'Keen to get back to the table,' minister says of B.C. government workers job action

British Columbia Finance Minister Brenda Bailey says there is some back-channel work going on around the escalating dispute between the government and striking public-sector workers, although she has no date for new talks.

Bailey's comments come as members of the B.C. General Employees' Union put up pickets in front of more than two dozen liquor stores and at liquor and cannabis distribution warehouses this week.

The union says about 14,000 of the 34,000 workers it represents in this contract are now taking some kind of job action, from pickets to an overtime ban, in an effort to force the government back to the negotiating table.

Bailey, who has been speaking for the government on the dispute, says they're "very keen to get back to the table" and are creating conditions to get back there.

Ian Tostenson, the head of B.C.'s Restaurant and Foodservices Association, says his members are being used as a pawn in the dispute and they expect to see supply shortages by the end of the week.

Bailey says she's heard from some industry representatives who have stockpiled liquor in expectation of such job action, but she understands the importance of the industry to the province.

"You know, margins are tight there and so I'm certainly aware of the challenges that that industry is faced with, but my role is to make sure not only that we get a fair deal for these workers, but that we get a fair deal for all British Columbians."

The union is into its fourth week of job action as it asks for 8.25 per cent over two years, saying its wages haven't kept pace with inflation.