Members of the British Columbia General Employees' Union picket outside an ICBC driver licensing office, in Surrey, B.C., Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. The union representing thousands of British Columbia public service workers set up picket lines Tuesday at provincial government offices in Victoria, Surrey and Prince George as well as in front of the Royal BC Museum. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VANCOUVER — BC General Employees' Union president Paul Finch says public sector workers are willing to strike for "as long as it takes" to get a fair deal from the provincial government, as the union escalates job action on day three of the dispute.

The union has expanded picket sites to include a building in downtown Vancouver housing a B.C. finance ministry office, where Finch joined dozens of union members wearing placards and shouting slogans.

Finch says the provincial government has not budged from its last wage offer before the strike, and has not returned to the bargaining table.

He says the union's escalation is an effort to "compel government to come back to the table with a reasonable, decent offer."

Premier David Eby says the government's goal is to reach a deal that's both fair to unionized workers and also "fair to taxpayers."

Eby says the union previously "did very well" in collective bargaining with a deal that kept up with and exceeded inflation, but the government can't do that this time around as it faces "significant fiscal headwinds."

"We have to understand as a province, which includes government workers, that we're going to have to work together and find a fair deal, be creative, but respect taxpayers as well," Eby said at an unrelated news conference in Surrey, B.C., on Thursday.

The union is seeking improved wages and says there's no indication the provincial government's Public Service Agency is willing to get back to negotiations with an improved offer.

The BCGEU, which represents about 34,000 public service workers, said more than 2,600 members joined pickets in Victoria, Surrey and Prince George in the first phase of job action.

The government has said it wants to get back to talks but has not described what has been offered to the union, which says negotiations collapsed in July.

"The parties are a fair distance apart right now," Finch said Thursday. "The government knows they need to come back to the table. We're just waiting for that."

Finch said last week that the union was seeking a 4 per cent wage increase in the first year of a new contract and 4.25 per cent in the second year, plus cost-of-living allowances.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 4, 2025.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2025