MEMBERS of the BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) employed by the B.C. Public Service have ratified a new agreement under government’s Shared Recovery Mandate, the Ministry of Finance announced on Monday.
The agreement represents approximately 30,000 people working in occupations that provide core government services, such as environmental management, social services, and sheriffs and correctional officers in public safety, as well as the unionized members of the Liquor Distribution Branch, the BC Pension Corporation, Destination BC and the Royal BC Museum.
Key priorities of the 2022 mandate include:
* protecting the services that people in British Columbia depend on;
* improving health care and preparing for future needs and challenges; and
* supporting a strong economic recovery that includes everyone in B.C.
These negotiations are focused on providing a fair and reasonable offer to public-sector workers that includes significant inflation protection, while ensuring that government has the resources to continue to invest in building a stronger province for everyone.
The ratified agreement includes:
* Three-year term
* General wage increases
* Year 1 – a flat increase of $0.25 per hour, which provides a greater percentage increase for lower paid employees (for BCGEU workers, an average of 0.76%) plus 3.24%
* Year 2 – 5.5% plus a potential Cost of Living Adjustment to a maximum of 6.75%
* Year 3 – 2% plus a potential Cost of Living Adjustment to a maximum of 3%
* A negotiable “flexibility allocation” of up to 0.25% in years 1 and 2 to support mutually beneficial outcomes for both parties
* Important achievements for both the parties in these negotiations include various pay adjustments for select occupations to respond to recruitment and retention challenges. There was also agreement on provisions that provide Indigenous employees with access to paid leave to engage in activities that connect them to their culture and language, as well as language to support employee health and safety and mental health in the workplace.
Currently, there are just over 137,000 public-sector employees covered by tentative or ratified agreements reached under B.C.’s Shared Recovery Mandate.
Learn More:
To learn more about public-sector bargaining in B.C., visit: www.gov.bc.ca/psecbargaining
