B.C. public workers' strike expands to liquor, cannabis distribution warehouses

Liquor and cannabis warehouses in British Columbia are now behind picket lines as public sector workers step up job action to try to pressure the government back to the bargaining table.

The BC General Employees' Union says workers at the Liquor Distribution Branch's headquarters in Burnaby as well as warehouses in Delta, Richmond and Kamloops are now on strike.

The union has also added five new provincial ministry work sites in Vancouver and Victoria to the strike list, putting the total number of active picket lines across B.C. to 28.

The job action in its fourth week now involves more than 10,000 with actions that also include overtime bans, and the union says escalations this week will continue until the province agrees to negotiate.

The union wants wage increases in line with inflation and cost-of-living, while the province says it wants an agreement that's fair to workers and to the public.

Union president Paul Finch says in a statement that strike action targeting front-facing operations such as liquor and cannabis distribution is a last resort to pressure the government.

“Up to now, we’ve focused job action on government operations, while minimizing disruptions for the public,” Finch said. “But with government refusing to come back to the table, we’re left with no choice.

"Public service workers cannot keep falling further behind," he said. "Government’s low offer is essentially telling British Columbians to expect cuts to the services they depend on."

The union began targeting liquor distribution earlier this month with an overtime ban, while it also put workers in the mining sector on the picket lines last week, just as B.C. is moving to fast-track a number of projects.