Sunday October 26, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC [Posted at 10:52 am | Updated 11 am]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The BC General Employees Union (BCGEU) has been exercising job action since September 2, most recently with about 25,000 BC government employment workers on strike.
On this Sunday October 26, BCGEU has announced that they have reached a tentative agreement with the BC provincial government.
This comes after eight weeks of job action.
Ratification is the next step:
The next step is ratification by BCGEU members — all 34,000 members of the public service will have have the opportunity to review and vote on the four-year deal.
Wage increase & improved benefits:
The tentative agreement includes a general wage increase of 3% per year for four years. That would be along with additional targeted pay adjustments for the lowest paid workers in the public service as a way to address the affordability crisis.
There is also reportedly a “range of non-monetary improvements and enhanced benefits” including:
- Improved fairness around telework and a modernized contract to reflect today’s workplace realities.
- Stronger job protections including a new process to review excluded positions and return improperly excluded ones to the bargaining unit.
- A faster grievance tribunal process to resolve disputes more effificently.
- Improved vision care and councilling benefits to better support mental health and overall wellbeing.
- Established a category of fully remote workers that have unique agreement protections.
Mediation after rally in Victoria:
Mediation has taken place over seven days starting October 17, after seven weeks of job action and a high profile BCGEU rally in Victoria on October 16.
The mediators are Vince Ready and Amanda Rogers.
BC provincial comment:
As of 10:45 am today, there is no comment so far from Premier David Eby or the finance minister.
The premier and alsoFinance Minister Brenda Bailey have been saying all along that the province’s approach to the BCGEU wage increase has been to be fair to all British Columbians.
On October 16 BCGEU President Paul Finch said there is plenty of money in the provincial budget but that it has been misspent, in particular on infrastructure without also investing in the people who make the government function around infrastructure.
Restaurant sector comment:
BC restaurants and others in the food service sector have been experiencing shortages of liquor supply during the BCGEU strike, as picket lines were set up at many BC Liquor Distribution Centres.
Pleased with today’s news: “We are working to ensure a rapid return to normal,” said Ian Tostenson, President, BC Restaurant and Foodservice Association (BCRFA) an email to BCRFA members this morning.
===== RELATED:
- BC Government and BCGEU returning to negotiations (October 17, 2025)
- BCGEU escalates job action, says government misspends on infrastructure (October 16, 2025)
- 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 SECTIONS: BCGEU | 43rd BC PARLIAMENT | JOBS & EMPLOYMENT