The BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) and the B.C. government’s Public Service Agency (PSA) will meet for the first time to exchange bargaining proposals on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, in Victoria. This round of bargaining is aimed at reaching a new collective agreement for more than 34,000 B.C. public service workers employed in every community across the province. The current collective agreement is set to expire March 31, 2025.
Through record participation in preparation, BCGEU public service members have given a clear mandate to their bargaining committee: negotiate a strong collective agreement that addresses the affordability crisis facing our members.
“BCGEU members in the public service are a key economic driver for our province and ensure the safety and security of all British Columbians. The current affordability crisis has exacerbated a decade of agreements that have fallen behind inflation, and we are committed to achieving an agreement that meets the needs of our members,” said Paul Finch, President of BCGEU and Chair of the Public Service Bargaining Committee, in a news release. “Over the past 14 years, government has contracted out key areas of service delivery and prioritized the growth of non-union management over front-line unionized workers, at almost double the percentage rate of growth. We need to change course and ensure public services are reliable and effective.”
Starting at the end of the summer, BCGEU members have been engaging in the bargaining process in record numbers. Tens of thousands have filled out bargaining surveys, and hundreds of bargaining proposals have been submitted at meetings across the province.
“Given the current economic situation, we anticipate it will take a difficult round of bargaining to reach that goal, but we are confident in our ability to reach an agreement that addresses the needs of our members.” said Finch.
Finch says there is an ongoing recruitment and retention crisis in the public service.
BCGEU members have put forth many ways to address that crisis, including wages that keep up with the rising cost of living and modernizing internal processes that hold workers back in their careers. Changes like those would respect the importance of their work and addresses critical ongoing issues that affect service delivery, he said.
The main public service agreement is the first of the BCGEU’s sectoral agreements to begin negotiations and is one of six separate collective agreements that cover a total of approximately 71,000 of the union’s members.