Tentative agreement reached with Community Living B.C.

October 26 update: The CLBC ratification vote will be done through a mail ballot. Your ballot return envelope and instructions are being mailed to you.  Ballots need to be sent back by mail and received at BCGEU headquarters office by 5:00 p.m. November 22^nd, 2012.

Please Vote YES to ratify this tentative agreement.

If you do not receive your voting package by November 5, please contact one of the bargaining committee members –or email Debbie.Craig@bcgeu.ca for a voting package

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A tentative two year agreement has been reached for over 400 BCGEU members directly employed by Community Living B.C.

Negotiations resumed last week resulting in the tentative deal which mirrors many of the elements of the recently concluded tentative agreement for the public service and the Government of B.C. Your bargaining committee is unanimously recommending that you vote yes for a renewed collective agreement.

Highlights of the deal include:

Wage increases of

• One per cent increase retroactive to April 1, 2012;
• One per cent increase retroactive to August 15, 2012;
• One percent increase in April 2013;
• One per cent increase in December 2013.

The agreement also replicates the improvements in benefits and business expenses contained in the public service agreement and also renews important employment security protection for another two years.

Furthermore, the agreement includes a joint expedited classification review of Supervisor of Administrative Services and Occupational Therapist jobs with an effective date of any increases of April 1, 2012.

Vacation adjustments for remote locations contained in the public service agreement will be rolled into the collective agreement effective April 1 2012. This will provide for an extra vacation day for those employees in designated geographic locations.

The tentative agreement also includes:

• Updated bullying language;
• An electronic union bulletin board; and
• An updated framework to address workload issues and workforce planning through the labour management committee.

The employer has agreed to establish a fund of $100,000 for the purpose of allowing CLBC eligible individuals to have enhanced access to educational support. A joint union/management committee will be established to determine the terms of reference for this fund.

This has been a challenging round of negotiations given the government's wage mandate. However the changes we are unanimously recommending represent real improvements for members and were achieved without making concessions to our contract

Detailed planning for the ratification process is underway. We anticipate organizing regional information meetings along with workplace voting at through stewards.

Members are encouraged to keep watching the BCGEU website for detailed information on the tentative agreement and the ratification process.

In solidarity,

BCGEU – CLBC Bargaining Committee:
Charles Partridge, Bargaining Committee Chairperson
Maureen Brady, Bargaining Committee Member
Jennifer Berry, Bargaining Committee Member
Dave Lefsrud, Bargaining Committee Member
Carmen Nutter, Bargaining Committee Member
Michael Eso, Staff Representative