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Recent Bulletins

January 28, 2025
Video message from Paul Finch, chair of your bargaining committee - Component...

January 28, 2025
Video message from Paul Finch, chair of your bargaining committee - Component...
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January 22, 2025
MEDIA RELEASE - B.C. Public Service bargaining begins today - BC General Empl...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 21, 2025
Negotiations to begin for collective agreements covering over 34,000 BCGEU members working in the public service
Burnaby, B.C. (Coast Salish Territories) - The BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) and the B.C. government’s Public Service Agency (PSA) will meet for the first time to exchange bargaining proposals on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, in Victoria. This round of bargaining is aimed at reaching a new collective agreement for more than 34,000 B.C. public service workers employed in every community across the province. The current collective agreement is set to expire March 31, 2025.
Through record participation in preparation, BCGEU public service members have given a clear mandate to their bargaining committee: negotiate a strong collective agreement that addresses the affordability crisis facing our members.
“BCGEU members in the public service are a key economic driver for our province and ensure the safety and security of all British Columbians. The current affordability crisis has exacerbated a decade of agreements that have fallen behind inflation, and we are committed to achieving an agreement that meets the needs of our members,” said Paul Finch, President of BCGEU and Chair of the Public Service Bargaining Committee. “Over the past fourteen years, government has contracted out key areas of service delivery and prioritized the growth of non-union management over front-line unionized workers, at almost double the percentage rate of growth. We need to change course and ensure public services are reliable and effective.”
Starting at the end of the summer, BCGEU members have been engaging in the bargaining process in record numbers. Tens of thousands have filled out bargaining surveys, and hundreds of bargaining proposals have been submitted at meetings across the province.
“Given the current economic situation, we anticipate it will take a difficult round of bargaining to reach that goal, but we are confident in our ability to reach an agreement that addresses the needs of our members.” said Finch.
From wildland firefighters forced to work unsustainable overtime just to support their families to courts regularly shut down because they can't fulfill staffing needs, there is an ongoing recruitment and retention crisis in the public service.
BCGEU members have put forth many ways to address that crisis, including wages that keep up with the rising cost of living and modernizing internal processes that hold workers back in their careers. Changes like those would respect the importance of their work and addresses critical ongoing issues that affect service delivery.
The main public service agreement is the first of the BCGEU’s sectoral agreements to begin negotiations and is one of six separate collective agreements that cover a total of approximately 71,000 of the union’s members.
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Paul Finch, president of the BCGEU and chair of the union’s public service bargaining committee, will be available for media interviews via phone or Zoom. In person interviews can be arranged in Victoria.
Visit our 2025 Public Service bargaining backgrounder for details on the overall process.
Contact:
Holly Reid, Communications
(604) 291-9611
[email protected]

January 10, 2025
Members under the Public Service Main Agreement - Public Service Negotiations...
Next week, your Public Service Bargaining Committee will begin negotiations with our employer – B.C.’s Public Service Agency (PSA) – for the 20th public service main and component collective agreements. The current collective agreements expire on March 31, 2025.
Under the Public Service Labour Relations Act, public service bargaining includes five component agreements which cover occupational specific issues that apply only to employees in a specific occupational group in the bargaining unit, as well as the main public service agreement which outlines the wages, terms and conditions of employment of all members covered under the main agreement.
You can learn more detailed information about the bargaining process here.
The agreed to bargaining schedule is:
Main table bargaining will take place beginning Wednesday, January 22 with dates currently scheduled through the end of February.
Our committee has been hard at work since last fall preparing our union’s proposal package to bring to the bargaining table. The proposals have been developed based on a record number of submitted proposals from BCGEU public service locals, the membership bargaining survey, and a detailed membership poll conducted by one of B.C.’s most prominent pollsters, ResearchCo. Thanks to the many thousands of you that took the time to share your issues and ideas. The groundwork that has been laid so far puts us in a strong position to achieve meaningful gains for all of us.
We are determined to reach an agreement that respects the work of BCGEU members in the public service and that members are proud to ratify. Given the current economic situation, we expect it will take a difficult and prolonged round of bargaining to reach that goal.
The most powerful tool that we have as a bargaining committee is an organized membership ready to take action in support of our work at the bargaining table. Our union is recruiting worksite bargaining contacts to ensure members are up-to-date and there’s two-way communication. If you’re interested in stepping up at your worksite, click here to learn more.
In solidarity,
Your BCGEU Public Service Bargaining Committee
Paul Finch, President and Committee Chair
Maria Bennett, Treasurer
Dean Purdy, Component 1 Vice-President
Kusam Doal, Component 5 Vice-President
Judy Fox-McGuire, Component 6 Vice-President
Mona Dykes, Component 6 Second Representative
DJ Pohl, Component 12 Vice-President
Faith Johnston, Component 12 1st Vice-President
Robert Davis, Component 20 Vice-President
Douglas W. Dykens, Executive Director – Advocacy, Negotiations, Member
Benefits and Secretary to the PSBC
Sumiko Marshall, Support Staff
UWU/MoveUP

December 13, 2024
Members under the Public Service Main Agreement - Update on temporary hiring ...
Dear BCGEU,
I'm reaching out regarding the announcement of a temporary hiring freeze for external positions in the BC Public Service.
Following the announcement, we have been engaging with the PSA to better understand the implications for BCGEU members. Key questions include whether existing vacancies will be filled, how auxiliaries might be affected, and if there are any changes to contracting out. We are also raising these concerns publicly, including through recent media coverage in the Globe and Mail.
This hiring freeze does not change our direction as we approach bargaining in January. We are focused on ensuring that any workforce planning decisions are based on accurate data and reflect the needs of the public service and the communities it serves.
We have heard lots of spin over the past few months and it's important to set the record straight on a few things:
- Staffing levels in B.C.: B.C.'s ratio of public service employees to residents has only recently caught up to the national average at 1 public service employee per 141 residents, after trailing behind for years. As many of you know, the public service remains chronically understaffed in many areas.
- Growth of excluded management: Since 2010, the number of excluded management positions has grown by 51.9%, outpacing the growth of the BCGEU bargaining unit which only grew by 23.7%.
These insights and other research that our union has embarked on will guide our advocacy to ensure workforce planning decisions are made with a full understanding of the BC Public Service's relative efficiency and effectiveness.
Our union is committed to defending the interests of our members on all fronts, every step of the way.
In solidarity,
Paul Finch
Bargaining Committee Chair
BCGEU President
UWU/MoveUP

November 25, 2024
Bargaining 101: the steps involved in the bargaining process - BC General Emp...
Our collective agreement with your employer – B.C.'s Public Service Agency (PSA) – will expire in March 2025, and bargaining preparations to negotiate a new collective agreement are well underway.
The negotiation (or bargaining) process has several stages which are outlined below. Every stage is driven by BCGEU members like you working for B.C.'s public service sector.
BCGEU members covered under the public service "Main" agreement are represented in bargaining by the Public Service Bargaining Committee – comprised entirely of elected representatives from the BCGEU, along with the lead negotiator. Our role as your bargaining committee is to lead you through each stage of the bargaining process, with the final goal of ratifying your collective agreement: a contract that outlines our wages, working conditions and more.
We are currently in stage 1 – determining our bargaining priorities.
The bargaining process:
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Determine our bargaining priorities: Our bargaining committee leads members through a process to identify the most important workplace issues to tackle in bargaining. It's important that our committee receives input from a majority of members so we can be confident that the issues identified are representative. We look for the most widely and deeply felt concerns, patterns in grievances and trends compared to previous bargaining rounds.
Thousands of public service members provided input via our bargaining survey, poll, submitted proposals, and direct conversations with the bargaining committee. Together, we identified meaningful wage increases and improvements to benefits as the top issues and flagged issues in several other areas which we will review in greater detail in the coming weeks.
The Public Service Bargaining Committee will be meeting through the weekend of November 30th to December 2nd to begin the heavy lifting on proposal preparation, ultimately finalizing the proposal package in mid-January.
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Bargain with the employer: Our bargaining committee prepares proposals based on your input, and the employer prepares proposals of their own. Bargaining officially begins when the two parties exchange proposals. Negotiation continues until one of two things happen – either an impasse or a tentative agreement (see below for more). You can learn more about the bargaining process in this infographic.
- If impasse is reached, escalate pressure: An impasse is when the two parties are unable to reach an agreement through negotiation. If an impasse is reached, our bargaining committee may call for us all to take a strike vote. Sometimes the threat of a strike is enough to force the employer back to the table. Sometimes we can avoid a strike by entering mediation. And sometimes it's necessary to take job action – such as an overtime ban, work-to-rule and/or a strike. Before taking any job action, our bargaining committee will hold discussions with members to make sure everyone is ready to act together. By engaging in collective action, we show the employer that we are united.
- Vote on a tentative agreement: Eventually we will reach a tentative agreement – whether through negotiation alone or after mediation or job action. Once the two parties reach a tentative agreement, you will receive a package of information outlining the details of the tentative agreement, and our bargaining committee will hold ratification meetings to make sure everyone understands what's in the deal. Then you and your co-workers will vote on the tentative agreement. If a majority of members vote in favour, the agreement is ratified as our new collective agreement. If members vote down the tentative agreement, the bargaining process resumes until a new tentative agreement is reached.
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Determine our bargaining priorities: Our bargaining committee leads members through a process to identify the most important workplace issues to tackle in bargaining. It's important that our committee receives input from a majority of members so we can be confident that the issues identified are representative. We look for the most widely and deeply felt concerns, patterns in grievances and trends compared to previous bargaining rounds.
P.S.
It's important to note that tens of thousands of other BCGEU members who work in five other public sectors of British Columbia will also be negotiating new collective agreements in 2025. Because all six agreements are negotiated with essentially the same employer – the B.C. provincial government – our union is taking a coordinated strategic approach to ensure our employer knows we are aware of our collective power and are prepared to use it if needed. We will keep you informed of any coordination efforts as they are made.
In solidarity,
Your Public Service Bargaining Committee
Paul Finch, President and Committee Chair
Maria Bennett, Treasurer
Dean Purdy, Component 1 Vice President
Kusam Doal, Component 5 Vice President
Judy Fox-McGuire, Component 6 Vice President
Mona Dykes, Component 6 second representative
DJ Pohl, Component 12 Vice President
Faith Johnston, Component 12 1st Vice President
Robert Davis, Component 20 Vice President
Douglas W. Dykens, Executive Director – Advocacy, Negotiations, Member
Benefits and Secretary to the PSBC
Sumiko Marshall, Support Staff
UWU/MoveUP
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