British Columbia General Employees' Union President Paul Finch pickets with union members outside an ICBC driver licensing office, in Surrey, B.C., Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. The union issued 72-hour strike notice following a strike authorization vote in which 92.7% of members voted in favour of job action. Public service members began strike action on September 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS
September 09, 2025 - 10:07 AM
Picket lines by British Columbia's public service employees are expanding to 22 sites involving more than 4,000 workers in an escalation of their labour dispute with the province.
Among the new picket locations are government offices and other sites in Nanaimo, Kamloops, Kelowna, Cranbrook, Nelson, Fort St. John and Smithers, adding to previous locations in Surrey, Victoria and Vancouver.
The BC General Employees' Union says air-quality concerns due to wildfire smoke in Prince George and Williams Lake mean there will be "virtual pickets" there until further notice.
The expansion comes after the province released details of its offer to striking workers, proposing a 4.5 per cent compensation boost over two years including cost-of-living allowances.
The Ministry of Finance says the union is seeking 15.75 per cent, but union president Paul Finch says that's "creative math" because it includes an entire "menu" of cost of living allowances that are options.
Finch said Monday the union would not "broadcast" its strike strategy going forward but added they were not targeting liquor distribution centres at this time.
Premier David Eby said Monday the province was hoping to get back to the bargaining table with union negotiators while taking the "headwinds" facing B.C.'s fiscal situation into account.
"We're ensuring that we've got a fair deal for workers and we hope to get back to the bargaining table to be able to hammer that out, to be creative, to support those workers, and to recognize the fiscal times that we're in in this province," Eby said at an unrelated media appearance yesterday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2025
News from © The Canadian Press, 2025