About 26,000 members of two unions representing British Columbia professionals and public service workers are participating in escalating job action as they push for pay increases in new contracts with the provincial government.
The weeks-long strike action includes more than 1,000 members of the Professional Employees Association and close to 25,000 members of the B.C. General Employees' Union.
More than 20 provincial ministries, Crown corporations and agencies are affected. Here is a breakdown:
BCGEU job action
Ministries
Citizens' Services (including Service BC)
Education and Child Care
Energy and Climate Solutions
Finance
Housing and Municipal Affairs
Indigenous Relations & Reconciliation
Infrastructure
Jobs and Economic Growth
Mining and Critical Minerals
Office of the Premier
Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport
Water, Land and Resource Stewardship
Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills
B.C. Crown corporations and agencies
BC Pension Corporation
Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement
Employment Standards Branch
Forest Practices Board
Liquor Distribution Branch, including all BC Liquor and BC Cannabis stores
Royal BC Museum
Professional Employees Association job action
The union representing professionals says all of its members, excluding essential workers, are on strike at the following ministries:
Attorney General
Health
Mining and Critical Minerals
Transportation and Transit
Water, Land and Resource Stewardship
The union says some but not all of its members are on strike from these ministries:
Agriculture and Food
Energy and Climate Solutions
Environment and Parks
Forests
Professional designations and workers participating in job action include:
Agrologists
Engineers — environmental protection officer, geohazard and slope stability geoscientist, highway safety engineer
Foresters
Geoscientist — dam safety officer, groundwater hydrologist
Lawyers — legal counsel, litigation
Mines — reclamation specialist, inspectors for health, safety and permitting
The union says examples of essential workers who would never be on strike include hydrologists with B.C.'s River Forecast Centre and child and youth psychologists with the Ministry of Children and Family Development.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
