Public Service Bargaining - Bulletin # 10: Tentative Agreement Reached. Master Bargaining Unanimously Recommends Acceptance

Negotiations for the 15th Master agreement for 29,000 BCGEU public service members concluded this week in Vancouver with a marathon session during the weekend which has resulted in a tentative agreement. The deal is for two years and expires March 31, 2012.

"This has been an exceptionally difficult round of negotiations, but the tentative agreement we are recommending to the members is reasonable given the difficult economic situation facing the province," said Darryl Walker, BCGEU president. "Since we opened negotiations with the government, our committee has been steadfast in the view that the BCGEU is not prepared to recommend a new collective agreement without employment security. With this tentative agreement, we are pleased that after a difficult final session of bargaining we have achieved this goal."

Under the terms of the tentative agreement, the provisions of the memorandum on employment security have been renewed and improved and now will apply to all regular employees employed by the province as of April 1, 2010.

"This change provides important protection to workers who have been impacted by workforce adjustment since last September, or who may be in future, as the province proceeds with its plans to reduce the size of the public service by 3,500 positions during the next three years," said Walker.

As has been the case for the last several rounds of negotiations, the last items on the table involved the 3,500 members who work for the Liquor Distribution Branch ( LDB).

"The package we are recommending for acceptance commits the government to continuing to operate a minimum of 185 liquor stores and their distribution system, clarifies that the employment security provisions of the agreement apply to regular LDB members impacted by store closures and requires that a minimum of 110 auxiliary employees be converted to regular status," said Walker.

Here are a few highlights of the tentative agreement:

Wages

No general wage increase because of the province's two year wage freeze, but a continuation of current temporary market adjustments (TMAs). A separate letter of agreement sets out the process for obtaining early retirement pension changes for those groups involved primarily in law enforcement - deputy sheriffs and conservation officers.

Benefits

The committee made a decision to improve extended health benefits. To do this we agreed to an increase in the annual deductible from $65 to $80 and obtained improvements for hearing aids, paramedical benefits and an increase from $100,000 to $250,000 for the lifetime maximum. Massage therapy will be capped at $750 per annum.

In addition, employees will now be able to use up to a maximum of two days paid leave at any one time for family illness in case of illness or hospitalization of the employee's spouse or adult dependent children.

Employee Rights

A new process to address bullying in the workforce was negotiated.

Auxiliary Employees

Other key changes include, auxiliary employees are now eligible for weekly indemnity upon the accumulation of 400 hours without the restriction of accumulating the hours in the same ministry.

Copies of Agreement

In an effort to be more environmentally friendly, we have agreed to reduce the numbers of printed agreements in light of the increased use of the internet.

"These changes represent real improvements for members," said Walker. "The government's net zero mandate, where every monetary improvement came with the requirement that we find the savings somewhere else in the agreement, caused real challenges for the committee. We have approached this set of negotiations in a responsible fashion given the economic times, but we will need to address our key monetary issues in our next agreement once the economy and government revenues improve."

During the next few days, all of the key language changes will be posted on the web. Members should check the BCGEU web site (www.bcgeu.ca) for updates.

Preparations are underway to finalize a ratification bulletin which will be delivered to members outlining all proposed changes to the collective agreement.

Ensure your address is up-to-date: http://www.bcgeu.ca/change_of_address

Membership meetings will be scheduled around the province where members of the bargaining committee will be available to answer your questions and explain the changes to the agreement.

The union will be holding information meetings starting the week of April 12th. Ratification votes for members will start the week of April 19th.

Voting on the master and component agreement changes will be conducted by shop stewards on the worksite. Please stay tuned for further details as arrangements are finalized.

To make sure the union has your e-mail address to receive bargaining news:  http://www.bcgeu.ca/email.

Members can also check the union's Bargaining Hotline by calling (604) 473-5444 or 1-800-335-5665.

Public Service Bargaining Committee members:
BCGEU president - Darryl Walker
BCGEU vice-president - Colleen Jones
Component 1 - Dean Purdy
Component 2 - Susanne Francoeur
Component 5 - Craig MacKay
Component 6 - Doug Kinna
Component 12 - Sandi McLean, Lori Joaquin
Component 20 - Byron Goerz

Staff representatives - Kate Campbell, Michael Eso
Chief staff negotiators - Jaynie Clark, David Vipond

Please click here for a copy of the "Memorandum of Settlement" which includes all the relevant amendments to the collective agreement.