The B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) escalated strike action on Wednesday when more than 600 workers walked off the job at 25 Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) retail stores across the province.
In a release from the BCGEU, the union said the locations were chosen because they “represent a significant source of government revenue.”
In addition, almost 1,000 workers at a multi-ministry site (Agriculture, Environment, Forests, Jobs, Tourism, Water) on Jutland Road in Victoria joined the strike, the BCGEU said.
According to the union, more than 14,000 public service workers are now on strike.
“Starting this week, public service workers have been forced to significantly escalate strike action,” said Paul Finch, BCGEU president and chair of the Public Service Bargaining Committee, in a release.
“We recognize this escalation will impact the restaurant industry and small businesses, who are being caught in the middle of this dispute. That’s why we’re calling on them to join us in pressing government to return to the table. Like them, we are frustrated that government continues to stall and refuses to return to the table to negotiate.”
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According to the BCGEU, this is the longest public service strike in B.C.’s history.
The union says it is asking for an 8.25 per cent pay hike. The province says it offered a 4.5 per cent increase in wages and cost-of-living increases over two years.
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