The BC General Employees Union (BCGEU) says it has reached a tentative three-year agreement with the B.C.’s Public Service Agency, after more than seven months of negotiations and two weeks of job action last month.

Workers will get raises of 25 cent an hour backdated to April 1 of this year, along with a 3.24 per cent increase in their rate of pay.

They will also get raises between 5.5 and 6.75 per cent next year, and between two and three per cent the following year, both tied to the rate of inflation.

“The members of this bargaining unit have been clear from the day we started preparing for bargaining last fall that their top priorities were wage increases and meaningful wage protections and our committee took that message to the PSA,” BCGEU President Stephanie Smith said, in a statement.

This agreement comes about two weeks after the BCGEU and the BCPSA said they were getting back to the bargaining table, more than five weeks after talks broke down in July.

“The 95 per cent strike vote we got in June and actioned in August was our members’ response to an offer that showed their employer had not gotten the message,” Smith added.

“After almost two weeks of job action and nine consecutive days at the table, enough progress was made that the committee decided it was time to let our members see what’s on offer and have their say.”

This agreement will need to be ratified by the roughly 33,000 BCGEU members working in direct government service, the details of which will be coming in the days ahead.

“Bargaining is never easy and this has been a long and challenging round,” Smith added.

“I’m proud of the work our committee has done and I’m proud of the solidarity our members have shown over the last eight months – especially the hundreds who walked picket lines at liquor and cannabis locations and the thousands who refused much-needed over-time as part of our job action.”

While that limited job action led to some limits on alcohol sales in B.C., some liquor store shelves are still bare a week later as operations and service levels gradually return to normal.

“To support the resumption of operations, we are working directly with our customers and industry partners to share information on the restart process and provide regular updates as we work to get back to standard service levels,” a BCLDB spokesperson told NL News in an email.

“To allow for the most efficient return to standard service, the distribution centres are focusing as a first priority on fulfilling and shipping orders received prior to job action. We are working closely with our carriers and industry partners to allocate additional resources to support a smooth and expedited resumption of operations.”

– With files from Paul James

#BREAKING – The @bcgeu says it has reached a tentative agreement with the B.C.’s Public Service Agency, after more than seven months of negotiations and two weeks of job action last month. #bcpoli #Kamloops pic.twitter.com/TnLukTByEY

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