B.C. union leader says 'high probability' of dispute in public sector contract talks

Preparing for disputes

Photo: The Canadian Press

B.C. General Employees' Union President Paul Finch speaks during a press conference in Vancouver, B.C., on February 4, 2016. 

Contract talks between the British Columbia government's unionized public sector workers start today with a union leader forecasting a difficult round of bargaining.

B.C. General Employees' Union President Paul Finch says the contract for 34,000 provincial government workers expires March 31, but talks are starting earlier.

Finch says the union is cognizant of the financial and economic challenges facing the province, but its members have been facing an affordability crisis and a rising cost of living.

He says it's too early to discuss the union's wage demands, but suggests there is a "high probability of a dispute this round of bargaining."

He says contracts for up to 400,000 unionized workers in the province, including nurses, hospital workers, post-secondary school instructors and support staff are also expiring in the coming months.

Finch says the current three-year contract was narrowly approved by less than 54 per cent of the union membership.