BCGEU members to vote on job action

Members of the B.C. General Employees Union (BCGEU) are taking a strike vote to back demands for a two-year contract containing a five per cent wage hike each year.

The union says talks with the Public Service Agency, which bargains for the province, broke down last month, with the government offering a three-year deal with total increases of 5.5 per cent: 1.5 per cent in year one, then two per cent in each of next two years.

“We’ve been clear from day one that cost of living protection for wages was the key to a deal this round,” said Stephanie Smith, president of the BCGEU and chair of the union’s public service bargaining committee. “It’s a fair demand and we know government can afford it but the employer tabled two wage proposals that didn’t even get halfway there. This vote is a chance for our members to tell their employer what they think of those offers.”

The strike vote for 33,000 members of the union will be held over five weeks, starting on May 16 and the ballots counted on June 22.

The union says about a third of its membership works in direct government services with jobs such as protecting children, providing financial assistance to the poor, protecting the environment, caring for the mentally ill in institutions, staffing provincial correctional facilities, fighting forest fires and providing the government’s technical and clerical services.

The union also represents thousands of members in health care, community social services, education, highways maintenance, casinos, credit unions, municipalities and regional districts.