British Columbians wanting to pick up booze at a government liquor store or get their drivers’ licence renewed on Wednesday had to put their plans on hold as tens of thousands of government workers staged a one-day strike.
Nearly 27,000 government workers, most of whom are part of the B.C. Government and Service Employees Union, walked off the job, causing a range of government services to be unavailable. Essential services such as firefighters and those in courthouses, prisons and child protection services remained.
The one-day strike was a part of a dispute with the government over wage increases.
BCGEU members have been without a contract since March.
“We’re in the process of trying to identify to the government and the general public that after two years of zeros, and three-and-a-half years without a pay raise, our members deserve to at least come close to a cost-of-living increase,” said Darryl Walker with the BCGEU.
The union is asking for a 3.5 per cent wage increase in the first year of its new contract, followed by a cost of living increase. The government had previously offered a two per cent increase in year one, followed by a 1.5 per cent increase. That offer was withdrawn after it was rejected by the union.
Attorney General and Justice Minister Shirley Bond, who took on the finance ministry's portfolio for a short period last week, said she wants the BCGEU to come back to the bargaining table.
However, it must be recognized that “these are uncertain times,” and that the government has created a framework where wage increase are possible, she said.
Walker said he thinks the two sides are close enough together that a negotiated contract is possible, but only if the province is prepared to bend.
Premier Christy Clark has repeated her assertion that larger wage increases would mean higher taxes, and she says that is not an option.
With files from CTV British Columbia’s Brent Shearer and The Canadian Press.
