Expect more labour unrest in B.C. as inflation soars: expert

The labour unrest continues in this province for a fifth day as thousands of BCGEU members continue strike action. The union says it’s still waiting to be invited back to the negotiating table with the province as it stands by its demands of higher wages and protections from things like inflation.

That job action is among a few labour issues the B.C. government is dealing with right now.

On Wednesday, more than 1,000 members of the Professional Employees Association issued 72-hour strike notice. There are also ongoing negotiations with doctors to help ease the shortage and questions raised about BC Housing, which says it doesn’t have space available for those being moved off of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

Laurie Prange, a professor at Capilano University who specializes in labour issues, predicts more of this in the future. She says we’re seeing this pushback because of inflation.

“Yes, the cost of housing has impacted what happens with our take-home pay. But the rate of inflation impacts family budgets, in terms of food and transportation. It means employees are asking for more ways to take care of their families.”

Prange says this is increasingly becoming a fight around the continent, adding about 38 per cent of workers in Canada are in some form of a union.

“For a small business to avoid a forming of a union or strike action, more transparency of how much the business owner takes home compared to the worker will go a long way in keeping workers understanding and supportive of the organization.”

Prange stresses B.C. has a legacy of historic union ups and downs and warns whoever takes over for Premier John Horgan later this year should be prepared for further negotiating.

“When they ask, ‘Look, I just want a 1.5 per cent raise that doesn’t even keep up with inflation,’ and the government says, ‘Well, we don’t have the money,’ The union can come back and say, ‘But look at all the tax benefits you’re giving to the movie industry. Look at all the subsidies you’re giving to oil and gas, which is far more money than we’re asking for.’ So, that new premier is going to inherit those long-term commitments … that can really hinder those negotiations because the union can just counteract simple numbers.”

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She doesn’t feel pushback to higher wages makes economic sense.

“We see this in those big studies that have been done where minimum wage has been increased, like in cities in the U.S., where just a few more dollars per hour for minimum wage ended up raising the entire economy. Families had more money to spend in restaurants, to put their kids in sports, to go to entertainment. The money in the hands of families, the more money in the community. It’s just simple economics.”

Prange notes not all strike action means workers walk off the job or put-up picket lines. Still, she says it’s not a good look for the employer.

“Some of the most historic strikes that happened in the country actually happened in Metro Vancouver 100 years ago. We are the grandchildren of those unionized workers and so we’re able to look at our grandparents and say, ‘Wow, they were able to retire without housing debt, without student debt. They were able to retire with a full pension and so people now are saying, ‘Well, why don’t I have that?’ When we talk about these union issues, a lot of us are the grandchildren of former union members and I do think there will be more labour unrest because we know it cam be better.”