BCGEU says some of its members will begin walking picket lines Tuesday

The British Columbia General Employees’ Union says a portion of its members who work for the province’s public service will begin walking picket lines Tuesday after the union issued 72-hour notice of a strike last week.

The union says in a news release that its president, Paul Finch, will join striking workers on a picket line in Victoria.

The union has said a strike vote was called after a breakdown in negotiations between the union and the agency in July, and Finch told a news conference Friday that 92.7 per cent of members voted in support of job action “if necessary.”

He said the union is seeking a four-per-cent general wage increase in the first year and 4.25 per cent in the second year, as well as an unspecified cost-of-living adjustment.

The release does not specify which member