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BCGEU union confirms Fort St. John workers not among striking employees

There are no Fort St. John workers on strike as part of the B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) dispute with the Public Service Agency, the union told Energeticcity.ca.

By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

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News

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September 3, 2025

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The current image has no alternative text. The file name is: Strikepic.jpg — 34,000 BCGEU workers went on strike this week in British Columbia. (Canva)

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Workers from Fort St. John are not among the picketing public service employees who walked out this week.

Staff represented by the B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) are on strike amid a dispute with the Public Service Agency over wages and the increasing cost of living.

BCGEU communications representative Nadja Komnenić confirmed 486 members of the union are located within a region designated as ‘area 10’ within region four, which encompasses all of the Peace region.

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The union says 191 members are specifically within Fort St. John. However, Komnenić said no Fort St. John unionized workers are on strike.

Workers demonstrated in several cities, including in Prince George, Surrey and several locations within the province’s capital of Victoria, according to Komnenić.

BCGEU president Paul Finch told Energeticcity.ca workers within the BCGEU had been voting about possible job action throughout the month of August, after bargaining between the union and the provincial government broke down in July.

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The results came in late last week, at a clip of 92.7 per cent to take job action. Finch said the voter turnout was 86 per cent.

Calls from Energeticcity.ca to the government’s Public Service Agency were not returned before publication.

Authors

Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A guy who found his calling later in life, Edward Hitchins is a professional storyteller with a colourful and extensive history.

Beginning his journey into journalism in 2012 at Seneca College, Edward also graduated from Humber College with an Advanced Diploma in Print and Broadcast Journalism in 2018. After time off from his career and venturing into other vocations, he started his career proper in 2022 in Campbell River, B.C.

Edward was attracted to the position of Indigenous Voices reporter with Energeticcity as a challenge. Having not been around First Nations for the majority of his life, he hopes to learn about their culture through meaningful conversations while properly telling their stories.

In a way, he hopes this position will allow both himself and Energeticcity to grow as a collective unit as his career moves forward and evolves into the next step.

He looks forward to growing both as a reporter and as a human being while being posted in Fort St. John.

This reporting position has been funded by the Government of Canada and the Local Journalism Initiative.