We are pleased to report that your BCGEU bargaining committee and Burquitlam Senior Housing Society reached a tentative settlement of a renewed collective agreement yesterday. This agreement contains significant gains for members. 

Tentative Agreement Highlights

Highlights of the agreement include:
- Term of April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2025
- General wage increases of 15.7% over the life of the agreement, with full retroactivity, as follows:
o April 1, 2020 1.5%
o April 1, 2021 1.5%
o April 1, 2022 6.7%
o April 1, 2023 3.0%
o April 1, 2024 3.0%
- Classification-specific adjustments for two classifications representing an additional 1.5% wage increase in 2021
- Shift premium increases:
o Evening increases to $0.50/hour (up $0.10/hour)
o New night shift premium of $0.50/hour
o Weekend shift increases to $0.75/hour (up $0.25/hour)
- New first aid attendant premium of $0.50/hour
- Fixed gaps in short-term disability (STD) plan language to end clawbacks of medical EI and provide STD benefits to employees without sufficient hours for EI medical benefits or who have exhausted EI medical benefits
- Footwear allowances:
o Non-slip safety footwear annual allowance increases to $75 (up $25)
o New allowance for other safety footwear (toe/metatarsal/dielectric protection, etc.) of $100
- Acting pay now applies after four hours (used to be an entire shift or longer)
- Mileage rate set at CRA maximum reasonable per kilometre amount-currently $0.61/km for the first 5,000 km driven for work (used to be $0.50/km)
- New personal property damage reimbursement of up to $400 for prescription eyewear, hearing aids and other prescribed accessibility aids damaged by a resident
- Casual employees paid 10.2% in lieu of vacation, paid holidays and benefits (up 1.2 percentage points)
- Significant non-monetary language changes and housekeeping
- Successfully defended against most of the Employer's concessionary proposals re layoff, vacation, sick leave, paid holidays, 'super stats', benefits while on WCB, casual pay in lieu, and extended health and welfare benefit plans. (Exceptions to this are a lower annual limit on a dental benefit and a new annual limit on certain non-paramedical expenses. However, based on recent claims data, roughly 80% to 90% of insured persons will not max out under these limits.)

Ratification Process

You can expect to hear from us again soon-and no later than sometime next week-with more information about the ratification process. Ratification is where bargaining unit members vote on whether to accept the tentative agreement. Your bargaining committee strongly and unanimously encourages you to vote "yes" to ratify!

Before you vote, you will have a chance to review the entire settlement package. We will hold a ratification information meeting where we will go over the highlights of the settlement and answer any questions you might have.

Again, you can expect to hear from us soon with more information on the ratification information meeting and the ratification vote.

We look forward to meeting with you soon to share more details of our gains in bargaining!

In solidarity,

Minna Roemer, Bargaining Committee Member
Betty Shier, Bargaining Committee Member
Ryan Stewart, Staff Representative, Negotiations Department

Download PDF of notice here

UWU/MoveUP