VANCOUVER – The union representing British Columbia’s public service workers says it expects to see thousands of people in downtown Vancouver today in a show of solidarity over its contract dispute with the provincial government.
The BC General Employees’ Union says members of other unions from across the province will join its workers in a march starting at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Union president Paul Finch said Monday that the resumption of contract talks didn’t last long after government negotiators presented a proposal that was little changed from an earlier offer.
The union says the rally comes during a significant escalation in its job action with the goal of sending a message to the government that its workers are united.
The union has asked the government for a raise totalling eight per cent over two years, while the province has offered five per cent for the same period.
Finance Minister Brenda Bailey, who has been speaking on behalf of government in the dispute, says B.C. is facing a very constrained fiscal position and the union doesn’t seem willing to make progress on a “reasonable agreement.”
About 15,000 of the union’s 34,000 workers involved in the dispute have been conducting some form of job action, including walking picket lines and refusing overtime.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2025.
