British ColumbiaHundreds of British Columbia public sector workers marched through downtown Vancouver Wednesday in a push for a new contract, after talks with provincial government negotiators broke down shortly after they had resumed earlier this week.The B.C. General Employees’ Union strike is now in its 5th weekNono Shen, Brenna Owen · The Canadian Press · Posted: Oct 01, 2025 12:53 PM EDT | Last Updated: October 1B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) members and supporters march to a rally in Vancouver on Wednesday. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)Hundreds of British Columbia public sector workers marched through downtown Vancouver Wednesday in a push for a new contract, after talks with provincial government negotiators broke down shortly after they had resumed earlier this week.Members of the Professional Employees Association, B.C. Nurses’ Union and the B.C. Teachers’ Federation marched alongside B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) members, in what BCGEU called a show of solidarity with its workers.The crowd chanted “union power” and “the workers united will never be defeated” as they marched through the streets from the Vancouver Art Gallery toward Jack Poole plaza, near the Vancouver Convention Centre, for a rally.The demonstration comes after the short-lived resumption of talks on Monday, with BCGEU president Paul Finch saying negotiators for the province presented a contract that was little changed from an earlier offer.WATCH | Unions march as BCGEU strike enters 5th week:BCGEU continues striking after talks with the B.C. government break downThousands of union members from B.C. General Employees’ Union and other union groups rallied in Vancouver to push for what they call a fair deal for public servants. As CBC’s Pinki Wong reports, talks between BCGEU and the government broke down almost immediately after getting back to the negotiating table.At the time, Finch said talks would be off until the province came back with a “real offer.”Meanwhile, Premier David Eby said it was “crucial” to resolve the dispute quickly and the parties need to be at the bargaining table “hammering it out.”Eby said his New Democrat government was trying to balance the valuable work of public servants and the fiscal reality the province faces.He said the government made a “good faith” offer of a five-per-cent wage increase over two years, with “special consideration” for those in lower paid roles.BCGEU members are in their fifth week of job action as they push for higher wages. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)”We’re fiscally constrained right now. The global economy is slowing. There’s huge cost inflation pressuring not just our government but governments around the world and across the country,” the premier told an unrelated news conference in Langford, B.C.”At the end of the day, we’ve got to make sure that taxpayers are protected, as well as the hard-working public service, and I believe we can do that, but we need to make sure that we’re sitting at the table and hammering it out.”The escalating strike is into its fifth week.The BCGEU had been asking for wage increases totalling 8.25 per cent over two years, but said in a statement Monday that it countered the government’s offer with a wage increase of four per cent in each year of a two-year agreement.About 15,000 of the union’s 34,000 workers involved in the dispute have been conducting some form of job action, including walking picket lines and refusing overtime.
Unions converge in downtown Vancouver in push for B.C. public service contract
