FORSETH – There must be a better way than govt employees going on strike
(Image: BCGEU Facebook)
B.C. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES are essential in delivering services to the people of B.C. … whether in healthcare, education, providing forms and documents for all matter of things from name changes, to drivers’ licenses … business registrations to healthcare cards … and much more.
In fact the B.C. government, in describing just one area — Service BC — states: “Service BC provides front line support for many of the hundreds of programs and services the provincial government offers to residents, businesses and visitors.”
But Service BC is just the tip of the iceberg because public sector workers, employed by the government of B.C., deliver a multitude of public programs and services.
Important stuff then, right? Is there anyone who disagrees so far? So I’m going to ask this question, “Can we do without these employees?”
I don’t think so. So why then, why are the residents of B.C. seeing a disruption of government services by thousand of BC General Employee Workers (BCGEU)?
According to the Public Sector Bargaining section of the BCGEU website, there are now over 25,000 employees either on strike, or partially on strike, at hundreds of worksites. They include employees at the following:
- BC Pension Corporation
- Citizens’ Services (including Service BC)
- Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement (CVSE)
- Education and Child Care
- Employment Standards Branch
- Energy and Climate Solutions
- Finance
- Forest Practices Board
- Housing and Municipal Affairs
- Indigenous Relations & Reconciliation
- Infrastructure
- Jobs and Economic Growth
- Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) including all BC Liquor and BC Cannabis stores, the LDB warehouses and headquarters
- Mining and Critical Minerals
- Office of the Premier
- Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills
- Royal B.C. Museum
- Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport
- Water, Land and Resource Stewardship
Additionally, there are 1,900 BCGEU members who have also implemented an overtime ban in Corrections, and Sheriff Services.
If a service provided to the residents of B.C. is important enough that’s it’s delivered by the government, then that service is, in my opinion, essential.
Let’s take a look, for a moment, at the meaning of ‘essential.’ Merriam-Webster describes the word as, ‘of the utmost importance.’
Synonyms, or other words that can be used instead of ‘essential’ include … important, necessary, crucial, vital, and necessity.
Now for me liquor and cannabis distribution doesn’t matter because I don’t use them; but that’s just me. However, other areas do matter.
- Vehicle safety – Yes, vitally important
- Citizens Services … Yes, vitally important.
- Ministry of Finance … Yes, vitally important.
- With the province’s finances on life-support, can we really afford to have the Ministry of Mining shut down? Yes, it’s essential.
- One of the things the Ministry of Water, Land, and Resources stewardship does is ensure the health of our ecosystems. Yes, that too seems important.
And then there are students who are being affected in a major way. According to the CBC … (due to) strike action by B.C. public sector workers, the province has confirmed that StudentAid BC’s online application systems have been taken offline, and payments delayed “until normal service resumes.”
But even more trouble is coming down the road if the government and its unions can’t come to an agreement. That’s because there are still thousands of additional public sector workers, with contracts currently being negotiated, including those in the healthcare, social services, and in education.
Those too, seem important to me. Of the utmost importance in fact.
On Sept. 2, public sector workers went on strike, with over 25,000 employees now on the picket lines. And by the look of things, tens of thousands more will be added in the days and weeks ahead.
In my opinion, every government department and Ministry is, or should be, vital and essential to the citizens of B.C. With that in mind. Some might say the easy solution is to take away the right to strike.
That is not an option.
In 2015 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled public sector employees have a constitutional right to strike, under Section 2(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
So now, we have a conundrum. Services provided by the government of B.C. are, or should be, considered essential, however the legal right to strike means B.C. residents, and businesses, are deprived of services that the require.
There must be a better way for the government, and public sector employees, to settle their differences when it comes to contract negotiations … because B.C. residents deserve better.
So what do we do? Does anyone have an idea what the solution might be to end this current, and future work stoppages?
Feel free to share your thoughts in the Comments section.
https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2025FIN0037-001025
Alan Forseth is a Kamloops resident. For 40 years he has been active, in a number of capacities, in local, provincial and federal politics, including running as a candidate for the BC Reform Party in the 1996 provincial election. He is secretary of the Conservative Party of B.C. He blogs at Thoughts on BC Politics and More.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
My idea is to never elect the NDP to power ever again.
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My idea: Bargain in good faith and grant employees raises and perks in alignment with the raises and perks granted to administrators.
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Workers aren’t interchangeable 2 X 4 lumber, Mr. Forseth, and undervaluing them buckles essential services, that Mr. Forseth lists harming everyone.
Labour like (land and Capital) is a “factor of production” needing mutual respect. Unions want to negotiate as equals, to prevent real wages going down to a point where the worker is unable to put food on the table. In BC, and Canada we have a mismatch which drives current unrest.
As I said workers aren’t interchangeable lumber, and undervaluing them affects essential services, harming everyone. Labour stability requires “EQUITY” which, denotes fairness in resource distribution, ensuring equal opportunities and outcomes across individuals or groups, labour in this case. To settle now the government must table fair 4% wages, adopt neutral Nordic-style mediation where 95% pre-strike resolutions are settled without work disruption. BC’s labor crisis is fueled, first by outsourcing which I have criticized until I was blue in the face and second by lack of “EQUITY”. We now face a 45% U.S. tariffs on lumber, which is slashing $50B in forestry exports.
Under whose governance did BC OUTSOURCE which has caused selective socialization of inequality placing education fees, legal fees, accounting, privatized healthcare, and dental needs on the backs of labour who are asking for EQUITY where 4% is a reasonable request to buffer being inundated with fees to death by groups that use entry restrictions to keep fees high, 20% increase since Covid. You want kids healthy involved in sports, music how can a worker do this $350 for 5 games community soccer and final tournament while I pay $25 for 20 games +++. This exposes the fatal flaw of treating workers like disposable 2x4s.
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You want kids to be involved with “sports” but lament the fees? Go for a walk or hike with them. Simple, healthy to the nth power and fee-less. There are often many options to a less-costly lifestyle.
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I agree with pretty much everything you said Walter. Two things however.
1) I DO respect the work of public employees because I sincerely believe they are essential to the well-being of each of us, and the smooth running of government ministries.
2) AI says that a 1% raise would cost taxpayers $438 million, so 4% would be $1.75 billion. That’s year 1, so double that. Simple question; where is our provincial government going to find that?
In 2023 the cost of living increase was 3.9% … in 2024 it was 2.4 … and this year (2025) it is running at 1.9%. The average over the 3 years is therefore 2.73%
Government employees should get a fair increase, but 8% exceeds what the cost of living currently is, and 2.75 per year would better reflect something that residents of BC can and could (in my opinion) support
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The charter of “rights and freedoms” needs to be changed to the charter of responsibility, respect and yes freedom. The broader interests of a well-functioning society needs to be the number one concern. We don’t have a well functioning society anymore.
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