As you know, many members did not receive their retro pay for many weeks and in some cases months after the date of ratification. The union told the government's chief negotiator on many occasions, both verbally and in writing, that the delays were unacceptable. On March 6, 2013, the union asked members to identify themselves if they had still not received the money they were owed. Based on the member responses, and the information obtained from government payroll, we can now provide updated information to you.

We now know that all regulars and auxiliary members have received their retro pay. There are a minimal number of members who have left government either through termination or voluntary departures who are still out of pocket for the retro pay but will receive it in the next pay period.

The bargaining principals met on March 21, 2013. The union advised the Public Service Agency that we will insist in future bargaining rounds that wage payments be made by a certain date and the consequence if government does not comply with that agreement. The employer stated that no one anticipated the many payroll problems that resulted in the lengthy period of delay. Retro pay for more than 25 per cent of the workforce involved a series of manual retro calculations that were complicated by strike activity and leave adjustments. Some of these calculations took more than two hours to calculate.

There has not been a requirement to calculate retro pay for many rounds of bargaining and there were some unique factors that complicated the process. The employer agreed that expectations were not met and should have been managed at an earlier date. The full extent of the problem was not identified for many weeks. Next time, the process will proceed differently and members will not be inconvenienced and frustrated. In fact, payroll services will be consulted directly during bargaining to assist in identification of agreed dates for payment.

The good news is that the vast majority of members have received what was owed to them. The union regrets the inconvenience and frustration experienced by members who understood they would receive their retro pay at an earlier date. We will proceed differently next year and assure you that in future you will have accurate information about payment dates.

Thank you for your patience and assistance in identifying and rectifying these problems.

In solidarity
David Vipond
Director of Negotiations - BCGEU