In December of 2024, the B.C. government put a pause on external hiring. No new workers were to be brought into the public service. Shannon Salter, head of the Public Service Agency (PSA), cited a “constrained fiscal situation” as the cause for this.
On Feb. 13, in response to the looming threat of tariffs south of the border, Salter announced a deepening of the freeze: all internal hirings and ongoing job competitions would be paused. The announcement stated that the PSA would be looking to find “efficiencies” in the government; this is nothing less than a veiled threat of layoffs. This has come in the middle of contract negotiations between the BCGEU and the PSA, with our contract due to expire in April. After the disastrous contract from 2022 and losses of other important financial aid, PSA workers are struggling to make ends meet. We need a better contract, and the government is already sowing the seeds of austerity to justify cuts and low wage increases. The membership and executive should prepare for a battle; if we do not fight, we cannot win.
-Anonymous BCGEU Member and PSA worker
