Thursday October 16, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC [Posted at 1:20 pm | Updated 1:44 pm & 5:01 pm]
by Mary P Brooke | ISland Social Trends
The B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) today was excited to announce that they are again ramping up job action, to the point of a nearly full walkout across the province.
There are some offices that have not gone out so far that will be going out and across the province and that will happen over the next few days.
In support of this, a large gathering of BCGEU workers and supporters attended a press conference held outdoors in downtown Victoria, in front of government buildings on Superior Street — with the BC Parliament buildings in full view across the street behind them. The crowd was about 500 strong.
Addressing media today were BCGEU president Paul Finch, PEA executive director Melissa Moroz and BCFED president Sussanne Skidmore.
Virtually every licenced professional working for the BC Government, as members of the PEA, will now be on strike.
And health care workers — who according to BCGEU President Paul Finch — have hit an impasse with government, will be out on strike soon too (if an upcoming health workers strike vote leans in favour of a walkout).
“You’re going to see this build and build unless someone steps in and fixes this, on the government side,” said Finch.
Nearly 25,000 taking job action:
As the Professional Employees’ Association (PEA) pulls all remaining members, the BCGEU has announced that starting this morning, more than 370 additional members have joined picket lines—bringing the total to nearly 25,000 taking job action and over 470 picket lines across the province.
The idea of a joint news conference today was to show government that the BC labour movement is BCGEU.
Their overall message is that the provincial government continues to refuse to return to the bargaining table with a fair wage offer for public service workers.
“The government has the power to end this strike today—by coming back to the table with a fair offer that respects the workers who keep this province running,” says BCGEU.
“I hope that our escalation shows government that our members are serious. We’ve never had this kind of strike before. We’re hoping the employer takes note and comes back to the bargaining table and makes a reasonable offer so that we can get a deal,” said Moroz.
“We’re going to be a lot more open and abrupt and much more up front with the members of this legislature behind me that are not living their values, that are not putting pressure on cabinet and the government caucus to come to the table and negotiate fairly,” said Finch.
Dynamics of strike impact:
An extended strike — now in its seventh week — has impacts in many directions.
- Workers on strike – having to manage on reduced pay (strike pay is only a portion of regular wage levels)
- The public – now missing out on government services that are needed for important things of everyday life.
- Government – a slowing down or stoppage of major provincial infrastructure projects (with delays causing a ripple effect on delivery of new infrastructure like schools and health care facilities) and a wide range of other government services that support people in their everyday lives and a range of business sectors.
Room in the budget:
The government is spending too much money on “infrastructure and contracting out” while leaving staff wages behind, said Paul Finch today during the Victoria press conference.
“This is not a government that’s shy on spending,” said Finch in response to a media question from Island Social Trends today.
“What they’re doing is that they have misplaced priorities,” said Finch.
“Increasing infrastructure is good but you need to invest in the people delivering that infrastructure, operating and maintaining it,” said Finch in quoting Italian economist Mariana Mazzucato who was apparently brought in to give advice to the BC government. “That’s exactly what the BCGEU and PEA are doing,” said Finch.
“So if this government actually listened to this world-renowned economist that they brought in for a photo op… they might have learned something with what they need to do is to keep step with, to keep pace with investing in infrastructure and the people who operate and deliver and work adjacent to that infrastructure. But they haven’t done that,” said Finch.
“The amount of money it would take to settle this strike is nowhere in comparison to the infrastructure spend you’re seeing,” said Finch in front of a crowd with strike signage.
“And not just the infrastructure spend but the misplaced spend that’s occurred because of poor procurement practices, because of contracting out, because they didn’t do it right,” said Finch. He pointed out a $1.6 billion capital overrun on the Cowichan Valley Hospital project.
“I really think that when they say the cupboard is bare, it’s really not. They’ve made poor choices. And we need to recognize that. Government needs to recognize that. And they need to start making better choices and invest in the people working hard for all British Columbians not for a select few in the legislature,” said Finch in response to media today.
Meanwhile, PEA rep Moroz said that the strike is delaying important infrastructure that the province needs, including mining and in particular the Red Chris Mine that is one of the five national major projects that Prime Minister Carney announced for receiving federal facilitation.
“Having these people off work is a problem and will result in delays and costly delays,” said Moroz today.
Pushing along the development of infrastructure like schools, health-care facilities and transportation is a core mission of the BC NDP government. A standalone Infrastructure Ministry was formed by Premier David Eby in 2024 — led by Minister Bowinn Ma — to facilitate progress with infrastructure development that is a response to continuing population growth.
Key Facts:
BCGEU presents the current framework as follows:
- On September 29, government returned to the bargaining table—but its offer was virtually unchanged from the one members overwhelmingly rejected before job action began.
- The BCGEU is seeking a 4% general wage increase per year for two years—a fair proposal that keeps up with rising costs and reflects the value of public service work.
- Government’s current offer remains at 2% per year for two years, well below inflation and out of step with the cost of living.
- Since 2016, overall wages in B.C. have risen 40.6%, while public service wages have increased just 27.2%—a 13.4-point gap.
- Without fair pay, government risks losing the skilled, dedicated workers who deliver vital public services—from wildfire crews and social workers to sheriffs, court clerks, and frontline administrative professionals.
What the public can do:
“Every round of public polling shows that the government is on our side with our ask, and not with government,” said Finch today during the press conference.
“I want to thank the public for the ongoing support they provide to picketers from both of our unions across this province,” said Finch.
The government is “out of touch with the public and they’re out of touch with working people in this province”, he said.
BCGEU’s position is that the public can put pressure on their local MLAs to in turn put pressure on the BC NDP caucus “to get back to the bargaining table to get a fair deal”.
What the government can do:
“What we need to see from government is them being informed by the people they’re supposed to be governing,” said Finch.
“I think the government and employers have long used the various systems to suppress the wages of workers. It is the government – in fact the NDP government — that brought in the PSEC regimes that they say have to result in the same wages for all workers. I think government could be more creative in terms of how it approaches wages with public sector workers. But it is the government that has failed to make any of those necessary changes,” said Moroz in response to media.
“Our bargaining committee remains ready and willing to find common ground,” added Finch. “But until the government comes to the table with a real solution and a deal that our members will want to ratify, we’ll keep standing strong. If the government were genuinely interested in reaching a fair deal, we would already be at the bargaining table working toward one.”
“I am very worried that the government showed a lack of respect for professionals in the province and that they didn’t bring even the offer that was brought to the BCGEU,” said Moroz.
Workers on strike:
“We wouldn’t be out here today if our members didn’t vote to be out here,” said BCGEU President Finch today.
“That agency, that licence, in terms of where we’re willing to go comes directly from our membership as a democratic organization,” he said.
“We’re directly informed by where our membership are at,” said Finch.
“A lot of people that go into these professions to help other people do it because they care about the people of this province. That’s why people are working a lot of these jobs,” said Finch, receiving applause from strikers around him. He said it’s “a difficult thing” to go on strike when British Columbians will be impacted by the withdrawal of services.
“That’s not something any of us do lightly or easily. But we’ve hit a breaking point here and government needs to recognize that,” said Finch.
===== RELATED:
- BCGEU job action seems stalled in 7th week (October 15, 2025)
- BCGEU strike impact on restaurants gets relayed to BC premier by BCRFA (October 15, 2025)
- BCGEU rally in Victoria Oct 6: how much can it move the needle? (October 6, 2025)
- Preparing BC Budget 2026 with input from municipalities and economists – Finance Minister Brenda Bailey at UBCM (September 29, 2025)
- NEWS SECTION: BCGEU | 43rd BC PARLIAMENT | JOBS & EMPLOYMENT