Public workers in BC have escalated strike action by picketing more provincial liquor and cannabis stores.
On Monday, workers set up picket lines at the BC Liquor Store and the BC Cannabis Store in Fort St. John. The BC General Employees’ Union says there are now more than 22,000 workers taking job action in their dispute with the province over a new contract.
Union President Paul Finch said that every day the government delays, pressure on public services will grow.
The union said it will continue to step up job action until the government comes back to bargaining table with a fair wage offer. Talks between the union and the province broke down last Monday, not long after they started.
The union says the new provincial offer had few meaningful changes, while the province says it’s trying to balance a fair deal with BC’s constrained fiscal situation.
The BC Liquor Store in Dawson Creek has been behind a picket line since last Friday.
Coinciding with the start of the fall legislative session, more than 10,000 union members and allies marched through Victoria today, with nearly 19,700 striking public service workers represented by the B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU).
Marking the sixth week of job action, leaders from major unions and allied organizations joined BCGEU president Paul Finch at the rally, denouncing government inaction at the bargaining table and calling on them to return with a fair wage offer or face continued job action escalation in the coming days.
“We brought our bargaining demands straight to the government’s doorstep right at the start of the fall legislative session,” said BCGEU president Paul Finch.