Government reverses stand on liquor store privatization
The provincial government and the B.C. Government and Service Employees Union have reached a tentative contract agreement that would keep government liquor stores open across the province.
- LINK: BCGEU bargaining update
- LINK: Government announcement
The province had planned to privatize liquor stores a move that would have cost thousands of employees their jobs.
Then a month ago, the Campbell government approached the union about negotiating a contract extension for all 28,000 unionized government employees.
Those negotiations focused on the liquor store privatization plan, which has now been shelved.
"It will see the government move away from its privatization plans for the BCLDB and maintain a significant prescence in both liquor retailing and a central distribution system," says BCGEU president George Heyman.
The agreement would also mean no pay increases for unionized government employees until the contract expires in 2006.
The deal still has to be ratified, but Heyman says the union is recommending acceptance.
The provincial government says it won't comment on the issue until that ratification vote is taken.