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"If the government doesn’t move on its proposals, we’ll be forced to consider job action.” - Darryl Walker, BCGEU President.
Vancouver (15 May 2012) - Members of the B.C. Government and Service Employees Union (BCGEU) public sector bargaining unit (direct B.C. government workers) have voted in support of job action.
The vote was 82 per cent in favour.
“We’re very happy our members have given us a strong strike mandate to take back to the bargaining table on May 23 in Vancouver,” said BCGEU President Darryl Walker. “If the government doesn’t move on its proposals, we’ll be forced to consider job action.”
The BCGEU/NUPGE announced the strike vote in late March, following three months of mostly fruitless negotiations.
“We went to the bargaining table with fair and reasonable proposals. Our members haven’t had a general pay increase in three years. Inflation has reduced their spending power by more than five per cent,” said Walker. “The government wanted concessions. It also presented a wage and benefit offer well below inflation and far less than six to 20 per cent pay raises the government gave some of its executive and ministerial assistants recently.”
The union presented concrete proposals that would produce hundreds of millions of dollars in new annual revenues and savings.
“Government negotiators showed no interest in these proposals,” said Walker.
More than 25,000 BCGEU/NUPG members work in the public service bargaining unit in corrections and sheriff services, hospital and allied services, retail liquor stores and warehouse operations, social workers, child protection, probation services and systems analysis, government administrative and support services and environmental, technical and operational services.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE