The CBA bargaining committee resumed negotiations with HEABC on October 19 – 21, 2022. 

We have made some progress and are close to resolving outstanding non-monetary matters and we're currently working to reach an agreement on changes to hours of work in both Article 14 and 15. 

However, HEABC (on behalf of the Provincial government) has reiterated that their initial monetary offer has not changed. Although this offer includes monies to match the top rate of CBA classifications to the comparable FBA rate, it does nothing to address the significant gap in shift premium rates, vacation entitlement, or the three years of full-time hours it takes to reach the top step. 

More concerning is that there is no additional money at the bargaining table to fund the Joint Community Benefits Trust at the same contribution rates as the FBA. This means that not only will we not be able to match benefits, we'll remain in a position where the benefits of workers in the CBA could be reduced. We are committed to stopping this, but at this time there is no offer of additional monies from the province to avoid this in the long term. 

We are going to make one more attempt to resolve these matters in the coming weeks at the bargaining table. If we are unsuccessful, we will have no other choice but to engage members on next steps up to and including the potential of taking a strike vote. 

It's critical that we have your up-to-date contact information as we move forward, including phone number and mailing address. The BCGEU Member Portal makes it easy to make any updates, just log in here. If you've forgotten your password, you can reset it here. If you don't yet have a Member Portal account, click here to sign up today. You will just need your employee number as well as your BCGEU member ID to get set up. 

We remain committed to closing the gap – healthcare workers in the community deserve no less – but we are increasingly concerned we can't accomplish that without a clear mandate from you. 

In solidarity,

Your Community Bargaining Association (CBA) Negotiating Committee 

PS. If you know of any of your co-workers who are not receiving these updates from our union, please send them this email and ask them to update their information by logging on to the Member Portal. 

UWU/MoveUP