Premier David Eby said British Columbia is facing “fiscal headwinds” that will impact what deal the province can make with striking public service workers.
Eby made the comments in Surrey Thursday morning, soon after the B.C. General Employees Union (BCGEU) announced it was escalating job action across the province.
The BCGEU represents about 34,000 public service workers in the province.
It said close to 90 workers at the Ministry of Finance are on picket lines in Vancouver, joining the more than 2,600 workers already striking in Victoria, Surrey and Prince George.
The BCGEU launched job action after issuing a 72-hour strike notice just ahead of the Labour Day long weekend.
President Paul Finch said the union plans to expand the strike across the province until an acceptable deal is reached.
“BCGEU members in the public service deliver the essential services British Columbians depend on every day, and they deserve wages that reflect the value of the critical work done by workers including wildfire fighters, social workers and court clerks,” said Finch in a statement Thursday. “The employer’s refusal to put forward a wage proposal that meaningfully addresses the affordability crisis leaves us no choice but to escalate job action.”
The union is calling for an 8.25 per cent wage increase over the two-year deal. The latest provincial counter offer includes a 3.5 per cent increase over two years.
“We recognize the rights of BCGEU workers to strike…but our goal is to reach a fair agreement at the table and we’re going to continue working to do that,” said Eby on Thursday.
“We also have to ensure that we’re being fair to taxpayers,” he added. “Workers did very well in the last round of negotiations, keeping up with and exceeding inflation…we’re just not able to do that this time around.”
The province has projected a record $10.9 billion budget deficit this year.
But Finch said public service workers shouldn’t be on the hook for B.C.’s financial woes.
“We know that the government’s fiscal situation isn’t caused by the public service,” he told workers and reporters gathered on a picket line in Victoria on Tuesday.
“What created this deficit is poor governance, overspending on capital projects, tax breaks for the wealthy [and] tax breaks on key resource projects that every British Columbian should be receiving benefits from,” said Finch.
He also said part of the issue is the increase in non-union managerial positions. He said those managerial positions make on average $45,000 more per year than the average BCGEU member.
A BCGEU analysis of the public sector found non-union management, who make up one quarter of the civil service, has grown at nearly twice the rate of union jobs since 2010.
The public service bargaining unit represents thousands of B.C. Wildfire Service workers, correctional officers and sheriffs, liquor and cannabis retail and distribution staff, Ministry of Children and Family Development workers, and administrative professionals working in ministries and departments across the provincial government.
