Whether youre heading off to class, picking up a six-pack or renewing your drivers licence, expect delays Wednesday as unionized workers across the city press contract demands by walking off the job. Liquor stores, Insurance Corp. of B.C. offices and other government buildings will be behind pickets lines run by the B.C. Government and Service Employees Union, Professional Employees Association and the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union. About 27,000 workers are expected to stage a one-day strike in 153 communities and 1,785 worksites across the province. Victoria will get an extra dose of labour strife with about 1,300 support staff at the University of Victoria slated to launch unspecified job action after 8 a.m. this morning. The workers are members of Canadian Union of Public Employees Locals 951 and 917. I think its safe to say that this is probably the most significant collective agreement bargaining job action thats gone on for some time, said Mike Eso, president of the Victoria Labour Council and a member of the BCGEU. I think it reflects the pent-up demand that people have. There hasnt been a real wage increase for a number of years now, and I think people are saying across the public sector, Hey, we did our bit. Its time for a raise. The BCGEU wants a 3.5 per cent wage increase in the first year of a deal and a cost-of-living increase in the second. The government offered 3.5 per cent over two years, but has since taken that off the table. The union is also critical of the government for rejecting its revenue-generating ideas, such as opening government liquor stores on Sunday, which the union claims would generate $100 million. Finance Minister Shirley Bond issued a statement Tuesday saying the governments wage offer was fair and reasonable, and its unrealistic to ask for further increases given the uncrertain world economic situation. We will not add to the deficit or ask taxpayerrs for more money to pay for unaffordable wage increases, she said. Ken Thornicroft, a professor of law and employment relations at the University of Victoria, described the one-day walkout as more of a protest than a strike. Its not at the same level as a complete impasse where the parties have walked away and its a full-blown strike and it becomes a war of attrition, he said. I dont think were anywhere near to that sort of stage. So I consider it to be more of a statement about dissatisfaction, as opposed to a complete breakdown in the bargaining relationship. Thornicroft said he thought that support staff at the university might wait to see what happens with the BCGEU before launching their own job action. I strongly believe that whatever the BCGEU gets is going to be a pattern for everybody else in the public sector, irrespective of what particular union they happen to be a member of, he said. So I would have thought it might have been the strategy just to wait and see what happens with the BCGEU, since its such a large and powerful union. But maybe these other units feel they have to do their part. The CUPE locals have expressed frustration that the university refuses to negotiate improvements in job security, retraining and severance in the event of layoffs. The union says those issues are a top priority for its members. lkines@timescolonist.com
