B.C. restaurants and private liquor stores say they are on the brink of a supply crisis and are calling on the government and striking public service workers to get back to the bargaining table.
The strike by the B.C. General Employees Union is in its sixth week and all government liquor and cannabis stores are behind picket lines.
The province’s Liquor Distribution Warehouses have been shuttered for a full month, creating an increasingly desperate situation for private liquor stores and restaurants that rely on those warehouses for nearly all of their stock.
Here is a full list of the businesses and industries affected by the strike.
“This is also coming just before the big Christmas order rush, so when the strike finally is over, it’s going to take a while for the system to get back to normal,” Mark von Schellwitz, western vice-president for Restaurants Canada, told Global News.
Union president Paul Finch, said members are ready to get back to the bargaining table.
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“This is a broad sentiment we’re seeing across society that, you know, public do not believe government’s being reasonable here. I obviously don’t, our members don’t, and I just think they’re out of touch with working people in this province.”
ICBC, the provincial auto insurance company, is also warning that the strike may impact some driver’s license services and road tests.
On Friday, all remaining staff at adult correctional facilities across B.C. joined the strike, bringing the total number of public service workers taking job action to almost 25,000 across more than 470 worksites.
Wages remain the sticking point.
Finch said last week that the government had been offering union members a 4 per cent wage increase over two years, but B.C. Premier David Eby told reporters the government’s revised offer includes a raise of up to 5 per cent over two years.
The union says the five per cent is not an increase in general wages. It bundles in market adjustments and other unrelated items, which not all members would receive.
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