British Columbia's public service union representing 34,000 members says it's preparing for a strike vote after months-long negotiations fell apart.
Paul Finch, president of the BC General Employees' Union, says the impasse came over wages, work-from-home rules and modernizing the contract.
Finch says their members face an affordability crisis, and if wages don't keep up with inflation, skilled workers will be lost, including wildland firefighters, who "are among the lowest paid employees in the entire government."
In the past 15 years, Finch says they have seen a 52 per cent increase in the size of "excluded management" inside the public service, while at the same time, front-line workers have been asked to do "more with less."
Wildland firefighters are making $28 an hour, a wage Finch says does not reflect the work they do in protecting communities.
BC Finance Minister Brenda Bailey says in a statement that the government respects its "hardworking" public service employees, and believes that agreements will be reached through the collective bargaining process.
"I am hopeful the parties will return to the table soon — it’s best to keep the bargaining discussions at the table so the parties can focus on reaching a settlement.”
The union says in a statement that its proposal issued last month asked for a two-year deal, with a wage increase for workers at the lower end of the pay scale, targeted adjustments for certain jobs and bonuses into base salaries.
He says the employers' last offer was a 1.5 per cent increase in the first year, and two per cent in the second year, which isn't "acceptable," not to mention that it refused to address key issues such as basic telework protections and removal of an "outdated" public service job evaluation plan.
