THE Health Employers Association of BC has reached a tentative agreement with members of the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA) under the Province’s Shared Recovery Mandate, the Finance Ministry announced on Friday.

The HSPBA represents approximately 22,000 health-science professionals working as medical technologists, medical radiation technologists and physiotherapists. Classifications range from medical and laboratory disciplines to pharmacists, psychologists, occupational therapists, social workers and physiotherapists.

The HSPBA is a multi-union bargaining association in which the Health Sciences Association makes up the largest proportion of the membership followed by the BC General Employees’ Union, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Professional Employees Association and the Health Employees’ Union.

Agreement details will be available in the coming weeks when the ratification process for the union members and the health employers is complete.

More than 500,000 people work across the provincial public sector in the core public service, at Crown corporations, in health, community social services, kindergarten-to-Grade 12 public education and at post-secondary institutions and research universities.

Of those people, approximately 393,000 are unionized employees paid under collective agreements or professionals paid through negotiated compensation agreements.