August 29,2025
RED FM News Desk
The union representing B.C. public service workers has voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike, which could begin as early as Tuesday.
According to union president Paul Finch, 86 per cent of eligible B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) members cast ballots, with 92.7 per cent supporting strike action. “That is an overwhelming mandate,” Finch said at a news conference Friday.
The union has issued a 72-hour strike notice, which would allow members to begin striking at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. Voting began on August 11 and concluded at noon Friday.
The BCGEU represents approximately 34,000 public service employees, including wildland firefighters, correctional officers, sheriffs, liquor and cannabis retail and distribution staff, social workers, administrative professionals, and other government employees.
The union has been without a contract since March 31, and negotiations have been stalled since mid-July. Finch has said the deadlock centers on wages, work-from-home policies, and modernizing the contract.
Over the past 15 years, Finch noted, the union has seen a 52 per cent increase in “excluded management” positions within the public service, while front-line workers have been expected to do “more with less.”
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