Burnaby/Victoria (BCGEU) – After three days of positive public service negotiations last week, talks between the BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) and the B.C. government’s Public Service Agency (PSA) broke down Monday morning.
Last week, the BCGEU’s public service bargaining committee developed a creative proposal that included cost of living adjustments (COLA) and wage protection from inflation, while working within the fiscal framework of the government’s most recent wage proposal. Instead of matching union moves to reach a deal, the government came back to the table this morning with an unacceptable “take it or leave it” approach and refused to counter the union’s offer.
BCGEU will be planning strategic, targeted job action and finalizing essential services with the assistance of the Labour Relations Board.
The BCGEU is the first of many public sector unions to bargain with the provincial government in 2022. In total, almost 400,000 public sector workers have agreements that will, or already have, expire this year.
