More than 10,000 public service workers and their supporters gathered outside the British Columbia legislature today as a strike by the B.C. General Employees Union (BCGEU) enters its sixth week.
Striking workers with the BCGEU and the Professional Employees Association (PEA) waved flags and chanted as they marched through downtown Victoria and rallied on the legislature lawn Monday afternoon.
The rally came a week after talks between the BCGEU and province broke off for a second time, and as legislators gathered for the first day of the fall parliamentary session.
BCGEU president Paul Finch said they’re calling on the province to come back to the bargaining table with a “reasonable offer.” He said until that happens, the union will continue ramping up job action.
“It’s going to last until this government gets back in touch with working people in this province and gets back to the bargaining table,” said Finch.
The latest escalation came Monday, with BCGEU members walking off the job at 106 additional worksites. The union said a total of 22,000 workers have participated in job action, either through strikes or other action such as overtime bans.
The strikes have shuttered dozens of provincial liquor and cannabis stores, while frontline staff are off the job at sites including the Ministry of Environment and Parks, Children and Family Development, and Energy and Climate Solutions.
The two sides last met on Sept. 29, but talks fell apart within a day. The BCGEU said its updated offer included an eight per cent general wage increase over two years. The province came to the table with a four per cent increase over two years, up 0.5 per cent from its previous offer.
Finance Minister Brenda Bailey said Monday the offer is “reasonable” and that the province would like to resume negotiations.
“We’re looking for an agreement that is both fair to these important government workers, but also fair to taxpayers,” said Bailey.
Premier David Eby has previously said B.C. is facing “fiscal headwinds” that will impact what deal the province can make with striking public service workers.
The province’s first quarterly report for 2025-26 showed an updated deficit of $11.6-billion, with projected deficits topping $12 billion in each of the following two years.
B.C. Green Party leader Emily Lowan attended Monday’s rally. She later said in a statement the stalled negotiations reflect the B.C. NDP’s “troubling disconnect from everyday British Columbians.”
“The NDP are placing the burden of the deficit on the backs of public sector workers, while they pour billions of public money into LNG projects that will enrich Trump’s biggest backers. This strike is shining a light on the NDP’s egregious misuse of funds and hollow support for unions.” she said.
PEA launched their strike the same time as the BCGEU on Sept. 2. The union represents licensed professionals in the public service, ranging from geoscientists to psychologists.
PEA said Monday more than 900 of its members are now on strike, with government civil lawyers from the Attorney General’s offices in Victoria the latest to take job action.
In another sign of growing labour unrest in the province, the Community Bargaining Association announced last Friday that they had reached an impasse in talks with the government.
The CBA represents close to 23,000 workers across the province in community-based services like drug and alcohol treatment centres, women’s clinics, seniors’ services and more.
