As the BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) strike enters its third week, the union says job action will expand to more workers once again — this time hitting close to the core of B.C.‘s mining sector.
Starting Tuesday, government employees who help support the province’s mineral and mining operations will be included.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER LIVE!“This means the engineers, the geoscientists, the agrologists, and the foresters who oversee all the permitting of mines, the enforcement of safety and the compliance of environmental regulations are off the job,” said Melissa Moroz with the Professional Employees Association at a media event in Victoria Tuesday.
Joining picket lines Tuesday are staff from the Mineral Development and Mineral Titles offices in Vancouver, along with workers at the Southeast Mines Office in Cranbrook.
The strike serves as a major hit to B.C.’s mining industry, which is expected to generate around $18 billion in 2025.
Union President Paul Finch noted Prime Minister Mark Carney’s unveiling last week a list of five projects for initial consideration by the office, including two in B.C.
“Environmental regulation [is] necessary for these projects. This is why we say that the civil service is part of the economic engine of British Columbia,” said Finch on Tuesday.
“We need to make a point here. These resource projects can only proceed because civil servants put in the hard work for safety and environmental regulatory measures, and we’re here to say that until this government comes back to the table, negotiates a fair deal, those projects are not going forward,” Finch added.
“You can’t fast-track mines and fast-track permitting without the people who do that work. So, absolutely, there will be delays,” said BCGEU Executive Director Melissa Marose.
She says his union did not extend the strike to cause delays. She hopes that extending the strike to mine workers will bring the provincial government back to the negotiation table.
“We don’t want there to be delays. We want a collective agreement. We want to get back to the bargaining table and end the strike.”
The union has also expanded its overtime bans — now targeting correctional and sheriff services, on top of existing bans at Liquor Distribution Branch warehouses.
The BCGEU is demanding the government return to the bargaining table as members seek a wage increase of 8.25 per cent over two years to address increasing cost-of-living concerns — among other issues.
B.C. Finance Minister Brenda Bailey announced Monday that the provincial forecasted deficit has hit a record high of almost $11.6 billion for the first quarter of the 2025-2026 fiscal year, largely due to the elimination of the carbon tax and amid “global trade uncertainty.”
Finch says the announcement about the deficit “doesn’t materially change” the union’s negotiating position.
—With files from The Canadian Press