BC restaurants and tourism businesses claim province-wide shortages of imported alcohol, spirits and ready-to-drink cans are increasing daily due to the ongoing BCGEU strike. In an open letter to Premier John Horgan and the BC Union of General Employees, the group is calling for an end to the dispute so products can be moved from government-approved warehouses. The alliance says warehouses hold about 40% of all liquor in B.C., with the rest coming from domestic suppliers with their own delivery to the warehouse. Restaurants, bars, BC Liquor Stores, private liquor stores and cannabis retailers are all affected. The alliance said on August 24 that the BCGEU’s industrial action is “yet another crushing blow” to the hospitality and tourism sector, which is only just beginning to recover from the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on venue capacity. “This labor dispute has nothing to do with our industry. we are collateral damage in this job action,” said Jeff Guignard, executive director of the Alliance of Beverage Licensees (ABLE BC). “We support workers’ rights, but no one has the right to cause so much disruption and damage to industries that are not participating in the negotiations.” The alliance says businesses will soon start considering redundancies. “Before the pandemic, BC’s hospitality and tourism sector was growing faster than the provincial economy as a whole, but we’ve suffered our fair share of pandemic-related setbacks in recent years,” said Ian Tostenson, president and CEO of the BC Restaurant and Food Service Association. “Now once again, our industries will unfairly bear the brunt of the severe economic consequences, including business closures and layoffs, canceled events like concerts and weddings, loss of consumer confidence and damage to BC’s reputation among tourists and consumers,” he said. Tostenson. Statistics provided by the alliance show that BC restaurants have yet to fully recover from pandemic restrictions. For the first four months of 2019, restaurant receipts totaled $4.3 billion compared to $3.8 billion (rounded numbers) for the first four months of 2022. In 2021, restaurant receipts totaled 3 .2 billion dollars for the same period. In 2019, BC’s tourism industry generated about $22.3 billion in revenue and supported more than 250,000 jobs, the alliance claimed. The alliance includes 19 industry associations, including ABLE BC, BC Chamber of Commerce, BC Craft Brewers Guild, BC Craft Ciders, BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association, Beer Canada and Tourism Industry Association of BC. The union represents 33,000 state employees across the province. On Monday, the union and the government said they were resuming contract talks. The two sides appear very different on wages, with the union asking for a rise linked to inflation, while the government is offering about 11% over three years plus a $2,500 bonus. The last collective agreement expired on April 1. Negotiations for a new contract began on 8 February but reached an impasse on 6 April. Members voted 95% in favor of job action on 22 June.
