---
title: "BCGEU tells incoming Conservative government to cut managers, not frontline workers"
description: "The BC General Employees' Union, which represents over 100,000 public sector workers, says management roles in the broader public sector grew 45 per cent since 2017 while unionized frontline positions grew 30 per cent. The union wants the new government to reduce management costs, not frontline services."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/bc/provincial-2026/news/bcgeu-urges-conservatives-cut-management-not-frontline-workers-2026"
last_updated: "2026-10-30T21:37:57.068Z"
---

The BC General Employees' Union is telling the incoming Conservative government to reduce management positions rather than frontline services, as the new government prepares to address a $10.8 billion deficit. The Tyee reported on October 29.

BCGEU president Paul Finch said management roles in the broader public sector grew 45 per cent since 2017, compared to 30 per cent for unionized frontline positions. Employee compensation across the sector was $55.7 billion in the last fiscal year, representing 59 per cent of $94.5 billion in total provincial spending, according to The Tyee.

"The rapid expansion in management, not just in the civil service, but across health, education and other sectors, is completely unjustifiable," Finch told The Tyee. "Frontline workers are doing more with less these days."

## How the public sector grew

The Tyee reported that BC's public sector employment grew 39 per cent over the past decade, compared to 22 per cent in the private sector. About 452,000 workers are employed across the broader public sector.

The outgoing NDP government had already planned to reduce the public sector by 15,000 full-time equivalent positions over three years and had agreed to a 12.6 per cent wage increase over four years. Each one per cent increase in total compensation costs $532 million per year, according to The Tyee.

## What premier-designate Doerkson says

Premier-designate [Lorne Doerkson](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/lorne-doerkson) told The Tyee that the government plans to reduce the public sector through attrition rather than layoffs. "The public sector has ballooned in the last number of years. We believe that through attrition, we can achieve those numbers," Doerkson said. "We are absolutely committed to trying to bolster our frontlines in this province."

The public sector's attrition rate has been about 5 per cent over the past five years, according to The Tyee.

## What was promised

The Conservative platform, pages 9 and 56, promises to restore merit-based hiring across the public sector. The platform, page 59, commits to four fiscal anchors including that the deficit falls in real terms and as a share of the economy each year after the first Conservative budget.

Both commitments are tracked at the [BC provincial promise tracker](/bc/provincial-2026/tracker): the hiring promise at [/bc/provincial-2026/tracker#gov-promise-merit-based-public-hiring](/bc/provincial-2026/tracker#gov-promise-merit-based-public-hiring) and the deficit anchor at [/bc/provincial-2026/tracker#gov-promise-anchor-deficit-falls-each-year](/bc/provincial-2026/tracker#gov-promise-anchor-deficit-falls-each-year).

BC residents can follow all government commitments at the [BC provincial promise tracker](/bc/provincial-2026/tracker).

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/bc/provincial-2026/sitemap.md) for all pages.