The B.C. government doesn’t appear to be sweating the first day of a strike by government workers, as the province’s finance minister says she respects the union’s right to job action but is hopeful formal talks can resume later in the week.

Brenda Bailey said the BC General Employees’ Union is within its right to exercise its “hard fought” ability to strike, but any real progress requires returning to the bargaining table.

“The BCGEU has made the decision to take these actions today, but we do think that we can work with them to get back to the table and come up with a fair agreement,” she said.

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The BCGEU’s first strike day was designed not to annoy the public with disruptions, and so picket lines did not go up at government liquor or cannabis stores and w

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