Public service workers with the the B.C. General Employees Union (BCGEU) are back on the job Monday after the union and the province reached a tentative agreement over the weekend.
The agreement ends the two-month-long strike that saw around 25,000 public service workers walk off the job at government ministries, liquor distribution warehouses and dozens of other sites.
Premier David Eby acknowledged the strike has been “challenging” for the workers and for sectors like the restaurant industry. He declined to comment further while members are voting on ratifying the agreement, but said he was grateful to those who were at the negotiating table.
The BCGEU said its 34,000 members with the public service will vote on the tentative agreement in the coming days.
The deal includes a general wage increase of three per cent each year for four years, retroactive to April 1 of this year, along with other targeted pay adjustments for the lowest paid workers in the public service. It would also boost vision care and counselling benefits.
The union said the modernized contract addresses a number of other issues it had been pushing for, like improved access to telework. It said there would also be a category of fully remote workers with unique agreement protections.
It also said a new process to review union-excluded positions would mean stronger job protections, while a streamlined grievance tribunal process would resolve disputes more quickly.
“I’m very relieved,” said BCGEU President Finch told Vista News Monday. “Our members are back at work and I think we’ve got a good tentative agreement to recommend to them.”
Asked about concerns that the wage increases could mean lay-offs in the future, Finch noted the agreement includes a memorandum of agreement providing job security for employees with at least three years of tenure.
The agreement was announced more than a week after mediation talks began between the two sides, with renowned labour mediator Vince Ready and his colleague Amanda Rogers. Finch lauded the pair for keeping discussions productive over long days of talks.
“The reason we got an agreement was fundamentally the determination of our membership on picket lines and their hard work pushing this forward,” said Finch.
The union initially said that despite ending its strike, members would respect the picket lines maintained by the Professional Employees Association (PEA).
The union representing licensed professionals, from geoscientists to lawyers, launched a concurrent strike with the BCGEU on Sept. 2. But PEA said on Sunday its picket lines would be suspended as it resumes bargaining with the province, allowing BCGEU members to return to work.
PEA said the province is offering its members the same general wage increases as well as other key proposals that were agreed to by the BCGEU. It said both sides are heading back to the bargaining table to negotiate the remainder of the agreement.
“Our members have shown incredible resolve,” said Melissa Moroz, Executive Director of the PEA. “By standing together for the value of their work and the services they provide to British Columbians, they have strengthened the collective voice of public service professionals across the province. We are deeply grateful to the unions and allies who joined us on the picket lines and stood in solidarity with our members.”
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