The BC General Employees Union (BCGEU) has announced that a tentative agreement has been reached with the provincial government, which could end a weeks-long strike that has affected everything from liquor distribution to fighting wildfires.
More than 25,000 workers represented by the public services union have been in some type of job action since September 2.
The tentative agreement, announced in a statement Sunday, comes after mediation talks with the province.
According to the union, the provisional agreement still needs to be ratified and includes a general salary increase of three percent annually for the next four years.
The BC public service workers’ strike is entering its seventh week and some in the hospitality sector say it’s hurting their businesses. As Jessica Cheung explains, some restaurants say they have even experienced attacks from customers due to a shortage of alcohol.
The BCGEU statement says the tentative agreement marks “significant progress” on issues such as wages and affordability, but it will be up to the 34,000 members of the public service to ratify it.
Most of them had been on strike for eight weeks, picketing government offices, BC liquor stores, liquor distribution branch facilities and more, leading to supply shortages of liquor and cannabis in particular.
A strike by the Professional Employees Union (PEA), an independent union representing licensed professionals working for the province, remains ongoing.
“This tentative agreement is the result of the incredible strength and solidarity of BCGEU and PEA members across the province,” BCGEU President Paul Finch said in the union’s statement.
