The BC General Employees Union (BCGEU) strike has expanded across the Interior region as province-wide job action enters its fourth week, which is the longest public service strike in BC’s history.
On Monday, the BCGEU said job action would continue to increase this week after the provincial government refused to meet their wage demands and offered a wage increase of 3.5%.
The union is seeking a general wage increase of 4% in the first year and 4.25% in the second.
After another day of stalled negotiations, the BCGEU said the strike has expanded in Coquitlam and Victoria.
The strike has also expanded to additional sites in Cranbrook, Kamoloops and Penticton.
A statement from the union said sites joining the strike include the ministry office in Cranbrook, which houses employees with the Ministry of Forests, Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, and the Conservation Officer Service.
In Kamloops, employees at an unnamed business at 1801 Princeton-Kamloops Hwy began striking.
Meanwhile, in the South Okanagan, employees at 102 Industrial Place also began job action.
That location is the Okanagan regional office for the Ministry of Environment and Parks.
“Until now, BCGEU members have focused job action on core government operations in an effort to avoid disrupting the public,” the BCGEU said. “But government's continued refusal to negotiate has left workers no choice but to escalate sharply.”
In total, more than 12,500 public service workers are now engaged in job action at 63 sites across the province, including 33 active picket lines.
That includes employees at the BC LDB (Liquor Distribution Branch) Liquor and Cannabis warehouses and head office, which moved from an overtime ban to a full strike on Monday.
Other members that are joining the strike on Tuesday work at six sites in Victoria and one site in Coquitlam.
The union said they work across a wide range of public services, including the Ministries of Health; Children and Family Development; Public Safety and Solicitor General; Attorney General; Citizens’ Services; and Transportation and Infrastructure, as well as the BC Conservation Service and Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement (CVSE).
