Photo: The Canadian Press The provincial flag of British Columbia flies on a flagpole in Ottawa on July 3, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wilde The British Columbia government says it’s offering public service workers a new three-year contract with pay increases of nearly 11 per cent and a signing bonus of up to $2,500, but the union says it plans job action. The government’s Public Service Agency says it is working to reach a fair and reasonable settlement with the 33,000-member BC Union of General Employees, but contract talks have stalled and the union says it is drawing up strike plans. Bobbi Sadler, deputy secretary for the organization, says in a statement to union members that with possible job action in the future, she wants to share the employer’s wage offer directly with them. An earlier BCGEU statement said initial discussions were positive, but the government refused to deal with the union’s latest pay proposal and talks reached an impasse. Union president Stephanie Smith says a cost-of-living clause and protection of wages from inflation are key demands for members of the public service bargaining unit, but the government’s offer amounts to a pay cut. The union’s statement says the BCGEU is now planning strategic, targeted industrial action and preparing final core services with the help of the Labor Relations Board. More than 180 collective agreements covering nearly 400,000 workers are up for renewal this year in BC. “Under this offer, the average BCGEU employee will receive wage increases of up to 10.99 percent over the three-year period of the collective agreement,” Sadler’s statement said.
