<\/p>\n
The B.C. General Employees’ says it has reached a tentative deal with the provincial government that ends a nearly eight-week-old labour strike. <\/p>\n
The union announced Sunday morning that the agreement would bring a general wage increase of three per cent for four years, along with several other benefits for its 34,000 members who work in a variety of public service roles, pending a final ratification vote. <\/p>\n
“This tentative agreement is the result of the incredible strength and solidarity of BCGEU and [Professional Employees’ Union] members across the province,” said BCGEU president Paul Finch in a statement. “For eight weeks, they held the line, standing up for themselves, their families, and the public services that make life in B.C. possible. This deal shows that when workers stand together, we can make real progress.” <\/p>\n
Both sides reached a deal after agreeing to meet with special mediators Vince Ready and Amanda Rogers. <\/p>\n
The union said the new collective agreement will also include improvements to telework fairness, job protections, a faster grievance tribunal process, improved vision and counselling benefits, and a new category for fully remote workers with unique protections. <\/p>\n
“This agreement is a step toward fairness,” said Finch. “It helps ensure that experienced public service workers can afford to stay in their jobs and continue delivering the critical services British Columbians rely on every day.” <\/p>\n
The Professional Employees Union, which is also on strike and shared picket lines with the BCGEU, remains without a deal. Finch said his union will continue to respect PEU picket lines until it also has a labour deal in place. <\/p>\n
“The length of this job action illustrates the seriousness of the issues that PEA and BCGEU workers face,” said Melissa Moroz, PEA executive director, in a statement. “It’s why we have been united in our resolve to fight for the future of public services in this province. Our solidarity on the picket lines has shown our strength.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The union announced Sunday morning the nearly 8-week-strike would end<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":159019,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-159011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-top-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n