The Union of General Employees of K.K.E. served the government with a 72-hour strike warning. The union representing 33,000 members who work for the provincial government will be in a legal position to strike as of 2:46 p.m. Monday. The union is not releasing details about the job action at this time. Members are advised that they will be contacted over the weekend if their site is selected for work. Union members have been without a contract since April 1 and while negotiations began on February 8, they reached an impasse on April 6. Ninety-five percent of members voted in favor of the jobs action on June 22. The government has said it is offering a pay rise of almost 11 percent over three years, while the union is pushing for more in the face of 8 percent annual inflation. The union says earlier this week the employer invited the union to return to the bargaining table. After “exploratory discussions,” the union’s bargaining committee unanimously decided that a return to the table “would not be fruitful at this time.” “Our members have been clear from day one that their priority this round of negotiations has been cost-of-living protection for their wages,” said Stephanie Smith, BCGEU president and chair of the union’s public service bargaining committee. “The bottom line is that they are not asking for anything that the MLAs don’t already have. The strike vote in June and today’s strike announcement is a signal to the government that our members are serious.”
