In 2025, over 71,000 BCGEU members’ collective agreements will expire. And renegotiation with our employers will begin.
Like most working people, we’re feeling the impacts of the rising cost of living.
In 2022, our union was able to win significant increases that almost matched inflation over the period of the agreement. But years of falling behind prior to that and an outdated classification system that pays workers less than they would doing the same job in other jurisdictions have left a significant gap between our compensation and the wages needed to maintain strong public services for our province.
We’re also struggling to sustain increased workloads while dealing with insufficient staffing.
The result is burnout and, sometimes, leaving the public sector. For people in British Columbia, that means loss of expertise and reduction in services they rely on.
On top of this, our society faces a general rise in precarious employment and increasing polarization across political lines. It’s not just our working conditions on the line but the quality of our personal and communal life.
How will we overcome these challenges and win?
Our union’s leadership is committed to winning the pay increases and other measures that will allow B.C.’s public sector to recruit strong workers, retain those with experience and keep us all healthy. But winning those measures requires more than just skill at the negotiating table. We must exercise our solidarity and collective power.
The ultimate way of asserting our power is job action and withdrawing our labour through a strike.
Before we get to that point, there are steps that we are taking to build our readiness and show our employers that we are united and able to strike effectively. The threat of a strong, coordinated strike has won many strong collective agreements before workers ever hit the pavement.
But that threat must be legitimate and mobilizing tens of thousands of us is a big challenge.
Our success hinges on two things: your understanding of bargaining — the process, the goals, the reasons — and our trust in our bargaining committees’ leadership. Last round, some members lost that trust and felt unsatisfied with gains in their collective agreements. That’s why our bargaining committees this round are committing to communication and transparency every step of the way.
Part of that commitment is admitting that it’s going to take more than one round of bargaining to achieve fair and just agreements for everyone.
A rising tide raises all boats.
And our work this round includes laying the groundwork for additional improvements in the next two rounds of bargaining. Our bargaining committees will share as much information with us as strategically possible to ensure our collective success.
This round of bargaining will be impactful. Our union’s leadership is energized and determined, but effort from each BCGEU member is needed to drive that impact in our favour. Solidarity is needed more than ever. History tells us that when we fight together, we win. Let’s make history again.
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