VICTORIA - The head the union representing British Columbia's 34,000 public sector workers says a government request to get back to the bargaining table appears to have been a "cheap stunt" as it offered little change to end weeks of strike action.

Paul Finch, president of the BC General Employees' Union, said negotiators for the employer were three hours late and hardly increased their offer.

“We’re here to announce today that talks broke off today, but they didn’t really start," Finch told workers outside a government office in Victoria on Monday.

Finch, who is also the chair of the public service bargaining committee, said the union will escalate sharply its job action after the "disrespect" shown by the government.

The two sides were not even in the same ballpark, Finch said.

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