B.C. government workers voting through to Thursday on tentative agreement

BURNABY — Members of the British Columbia General Employees’ Union have begun voting on the tentative agreement reached last month with the provincial government.

The union says in a statement that voting started Thursday and will continue until Nov. 13, with the results expected later that day.

By the end of the eight-week strike, most of the union’s 34,000 members were walking the picket line.

The escalating strike shut down numerous government services over the eight weeks of job action, including closing liquor and cannabis stores and their distribution branches.

Union president Paul Finch says in a statement that the resolve of the members got it to the point of a tentative deal and now the next step is for each member to vote on its ratification.

Picket lines came down shortly after the two sides announced the tentative agreement, which the union said offers general wage increases of three per cent in each year of the four-year deal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2025.