More than three weeks after the BC General Employees’ Union went on strike, the number of workers on picket lines continues to increase without a response from the government.
The union, which represents 34,000 core government workers, says almost 11,900 workers are striking, while another 2,200 are participating in job action like overtime bans.
The strike extended to liquor and cannabis distribution centres and warehouses Monday in an effort to increase pressure by curbing alcohol sales to private cannabis and liquor stores and restaurants and bars.
Ian Tostenson, CEO of the BC Restaurant and Food Services Association, told the Vancouver Sun restaurants will start to feel the impact within days.
“We’ve done our best to try and minimize the inconvenience to the general public,” BCGEU president Paul Finch said. “But our ability to do that is not infinite. The government is still failing to come to the table and negotiate, so we were prompted to escalate.”
Finch said members are prepared to continue escalating job action until the provincial government makes a better offer on wages.
Today, public service workers across B.C. took to the picket lines to demand a fair deal.
— BCGEU (@bcgeu) September 2, 2025
From Prince George to Surrey to Victoria, 2,627 workers in key ministries walked off the job — making it clear that government’s low wage offer is not good enough. These workers keep B.C.’s… pic.twitter.com/dvQeOEmkDw
David Hannah, a business professor at Simon Fraser University, said the union’s strategy requires a delicate balance of pressuring the employer while maintaining public support.
“They’ve got to read the room,” Hannah said. “If they escalate too far, too fast, they lose the support of the public — and because the stakes for the government are so high, it may not work.”
He added that for the provincial government, this labour dispute is bigger than just the BCGEU.
The provincial government is renegotiating contracts with unions representing 452,000 B.C. public sector workers this year, including the Hospital Employees’ Union, BC Teachers’ Federation and BC Nurses’ Union.
Hannah said the provincial government’s offer to the BCGEU will set the tone for the wage negotiations to come.
“The real negotiation is probably between the public sector labour movement as a whole and the government,” Hannah said.
“It limits the BCGEU’s ability to put pressure on the government, because it’s not just one union that they’re agreeing with on the financial side; it’s all the public sector unions.”
About 2,000 core government workers first walked off the job Sept. 2. The union has been escalating job action several times each week as the strike drags though its fourth week.
According to the union, this is the longest public sector strike in B.C. history.
“We haven’t seen any movement from the government, and frankly, we can’t continue to do smaller-scale targeted actions indefinitely,” Finch said. “Membership has been very keen to expand the strike themselves. They’re obviously incredibly insulted by the government’s offer.”
The province is offering a 3.5 per cent general wage increase over two years and an extra one per cent increase for lower-income and longer-service employees.
Finch said last month the union is seeking a two-year agreement with a four per cent general wage increase in the first year and a 4.2 per cent increase in the second, plus cost-of-living adjustments for certain workers.
And as other unions seek better wage offers, Finch added that a “significant emphasis” has been placed on the negotiations between the BCGEU and the provincial government.
“A lot of people are looking at this job action to see where the broader public sector will land,” Finch said. “If the government isn’t able to come to the table with us, I think you’re going to very quickly start seeing other bargaining units join us on the picket lines.”
About 600 members of the Professional Employees Association, including highway engineers, geoscientists and mining inspectors, are also on strike. PEA executive director Melissa Moroz said the union started strike action the same day as the BCGEU and has been escalating job action regularly since then.
“We’ve been measured and patient, in terms of not escalating to a full strike,” Moroz said. “But it will get there. It’s just a matter of time if the government doesn’t come back to the bargaining table.”
The province gave the PEA a wage offer similar to the one it offered the BCGEU, Moroz said, and members are seeking a better offer plus reimbursement for fees incurred renewing their professional licences, such as those needed to practise law, physiotherapy and engineering.
“This is something they need in order to do their job, and we would say that that’s something the employer should pay for,” Moroz said. “It’s common in the private sector for that to be paid for.”
Moroz added that members who provide essential services will continue to work, for example veterinary specialists tracking avian flu and youth forensic psychologists.
Meanwhile, the Facilities Bargaining Association — which represents 67,500 health employees mostly with the Hospital Employees’ Union — is still at the table with the provincial government.
Neil Monckton with the Hospital Employees’ Union said in an email the association rejected the province’s 3.5 per cent wage offer.
In August, the union said it agreed to a “framework” that “outlines a clear path for the government to deliver on its longtime commitment to improve wages and benefits for health-care workers who provide care for seniors in long-term care and assisted living.”
Monckton declined to provide further comment on what’s in those provisions until the union comes to an agreement with the province.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance, said in an email the ministry respects the rights of all workers to bargain collectively, but compensation paid to government employees counts for nearly 60 per cent of the province’s budget.
“We must acknowledge B.C.’s limited fiscal position amidst strong economic headwinds,” the statement said. “The impacts of the U.S. trade war are being felt across Canada, and we must reach a deal that is fair to workers and fair to all British Columbians.”
The spokesperson added the government’s “key priorities” are to protect and strengthen critical services in the public sector and maintain labour stability in a complex round of bargaining.
The provincial government estimates that if B.C.’s entire unionized public sector were to receive the increases the BCGEU is asking for, it would cost the province $6.6 billion annually.
Marc Lee, a senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, said the NDP provincial government is likely cautious of being seen as caving for its “labour buddies” and increasing its budget deficit.
At the same time, Lee said it likely recognized the need to improve public sector jobs and keep them competitive with the private sector.
“They’re going to get beat up one way or the other, either on the left or on the right,” Lee said. “They’re trying to walk a line that I think is difficult.”
The provincial government’s budget deficit is set to reach a record $12.6 billion next year, Finance Minister Brenda Bailey said earlier this month.
“There’s been a little bit too much of the punditry setting their hair on fire around the deficit,” Lee said.
The time to address deficits and run surpluses is when the economy is doing well, according to Lee. He said when the economy is doing poorly, it’s up to the provincial government to borrow money to strengthen public services and spend on services like health care and education to stimulate the economy.
“It’s not just handing out cheques to people; it’s providing services that improve our economy and our quality of life,” Lee said. “It’s one of the core ways that we stabilize relative to the swings, the booms and busts of the overall economy.”
The strike is also testing workers. The people who have walked off the job will receive non-taxable strike pay of $650 a week or 70 per cent of their wages, whichever is less.
The strike pay will cost the BCGEU about $7.5 million a week at current levels.
