Job action possible as talks break down with B.C. General Employees' Union
Despite initial discussions being positive, negotiations between the B.C. General Employees’ Union and the Public Services Agency hit an impasse on Monday.
“There was no counterproposal from the employer, so at that point they gave us nothing to work with,” explained Stephanie Smith, BCGEU president. “So we’ve broken off talks.”
Smith said the union, which represents a wide range of public service workers, including forest firefighters and corrections officers, wants a minimum five per cent raise for the next two years, with a cost-of-living clause and wage protection from inflation.
It’s more than the two per cent yearly raise in the previous agreement, which expired in the spring, but the BCGEU chalks it up to inflation, which has soared to record highs.
“It is eating into the real purchasing power of workers' wages,” said Jim Stanford, an economist with Centre for Future Work.
“Wages in Canada have only been growing at between three and four per cent over the last year, but prices are up twice as fast – almost eight per cent.”
The BCGEU won’t confirm if and when members might go on strike, only saying the union wants to minimize the impact on the public.
“Job action can look very different,” said Smith. “It can be an overtime ban, or it can be something called work to rule, where you do exactly what’s in your job description. You arrive on time, take breaks on time, and leave on time.”
The provincial government is confident job action can be avoided, telling CTV News in an emailed statement it “respects the hardworking members of B.C.’s public sector and we believe that agreements will be reached through the collective bargaining process.”
More than 180 collective agreements covering nearly 400,000 workers must be renewed in B.C. With most industries short-staffed, experts say workers have leverage.
"Employers are going to have to wrap their minds around the fact that wages have to grow faster if they want to settle these contract negotiations without a work stoppage,” said Stanford.
The BCGEU was armed with a 94.6 per cent strike mandate when the two sides met last week.
With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.