The BC General Employees' Union says provincial public sector workers have voted to approve strike action.
Paul Finch, union president and public service bargaining committee chair, told a news conference on Friday that 72-hour notice of a potential strike had been issued, meaning action could begin at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday.
Finch said there was 92.7 per cent support for strike action, and 86.4 per cent of Public Service Agency members in the union voted.
He said the vote represented an "overwhelming mandate for fair wages."
Members of the Professional Employees Association, who also work for the Public Service Agency, also announced they had voted in favour of taking job action and would issue simultaneous strike notice.
Melissa Moroz, executive director of the association, said it made a strategic decision a year ago to "stand beside the BCGEU."
"Their fight is our fight, and we are united as workers in the public service," she said.
Finch said he hoped the government would come back with a revised wage mandate and that a strike could be avoided next week.
But he said the "emphatic strike result reflects the seriousness of the affordability crisis that our members are facing."
Finch told the news conference that discussions had broken off, with the union seeking a four per cent general wage increase in the first year and 4.25 per cent in the second year, as well as a cost-of-living adjustment.
"Government’s current offer doesn't meet the urgency of this crisis, and this emphatic strike vote result reflects workers’ deep concern over the lack of progress at the bargaining table," he said in a statement.
The union said the strike vote was called after a breakdown in negotiations between the union and the agency last month.
Voting began on Aug. 11 and closed at noon Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2025.
Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press
