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2w ago

B.C. Public-Service Strike Enters Second Day as BCGEU Presses for Higher Wage Offer

The union plans to escalate targeted pickets unless the province returns with a revised mandate.

Members of the British Columbia General Employees' Union picket outside an ICBC driver licensing office, in Surrey, B.C., Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. The union representing thousands of British Columbia public service workers set up picket lines Tuesday at provincial government offices in Victoria, Surrey and Prince George as well as in front of the Royal BC Museum. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
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Members of the BC General Employees Union walk the picket line on Queensway outside the BC government building on the first day of their strike on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025 in Prince George, BC.

Overview

  • Targeted pickets by BCGEU and the Professional Employees Association went up in Victoria, Surrey and Prince George, including the Jack Davis building and a surprise line at the Royal BC Museum, drawing about 2,000 workers on day one.
  • BCGEU leaders say job action will broaden if the B.C. Public Service Agency does not come back with a higher wage offer.
  • The union is seeking roughly 8.25% over two years plus cost-of-living protection, while the province is holding to about 3.5% over two years under its balanced measures framework.
  • Finance Minister Brenda Bailey says the government is exploring a return to bargaining under fiscal constraints from large deficits, yet the province has not tabled a revised proposal.
  • Essential services remain protected, with early disruptions concentrated at an ICBC licensing centre in Surrey where appointments were cancelled.