VANCOUVER — Hundreds of British Columbia public sector workers marched through downtown Vancouver Wednesday in a push for a new contract, after talks with government negotiators broke down shortly after they had resumed earlier this week.
Members of other unions, including the Professional Employees Association, BC Nurses’ Union, BC Teachers’ Federation and United Steelworkers also joined in what the BC General Employees’ Union called a show of solidarity with its workers.
The crowd chanted “union power” and “the workers united will never be defeated” as they marched through the streets from the Vancouver Art Gallery toward Jack Poole plaza, near the Vancouver Convention Centre, for a rally.
Melissa Moroz, executive director of the Professional Employees Association, said the crowd was inspiring.
“It’s great to have the labour movement all together,” she said.
“This strike is bigger than any one of us. It’s not just about the people who are on strike,” she said. “This strike is about a fight for public services across this province.”
She said the job action was about fairness, respect and dignity, not just wages.
Annette Toth, president of Movement of United Professionals, told the rally that public sector workers were telling the provincial government they are facing an affordability crisis.
“We are essential for the success of this province,” Toth said, drawing cheers from the crowd. “And that starts by making sure that people who do the hard work every day to keep our province running are paid appropriately, so they can afford to live and work in (their) communities and afford to put food on their table for their families.”
She said it felt like the government had its ears plugged.
“They’re not listening,” Toth said.
The demonstration comes after the short-lived resumption of talks on Monday, with BCGEU president Paul Finch saying negotiators for the province presented a contract that was little changed from an earlier offer.
Finch said talks would be off until the province came back with a “real offer.”
Premier David Eby said at an unrelated news conference on Wednesday that it was “crucial” to resolve the dispute quickly and the parties need to be at the bargaining table “hammering it out.”
Eby said his New Democrat government was trying to balance the valuable work of public servants and the fiscal reality the province faces.
He said the government made a “good faith” offer of a five-per-cent wage increase over two years, with “special consideration” for those in lower paid roles.
“We’re fiscally constrained right now. The global economy is slowing. There’s huge cost inflation pressuring not just our government but governments around the world and across the country,” the premier said in Langford, B.C.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to make sure that taxpayers are protected, as well as the hard-working public service, and I believe we can do that, but we need to make sure that we’re sitting at the table and hammering it out.”
The escalating strike is into its fifth week.
The BCGEU said in a statement on Monday that it countered the government’s offer of a five per cent wage increase over two years with a request for eight per cent over the period.
About 15,000 of the union’s 34,000 workers involved in the dispute have been conducting some form of job action, including walking picket lines and refusing overtime.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2025.
Nono Shen and Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press
