Tomorrow, April 1st, marks the expiry of the 18th Main and Component collective agreements for B.C.’s public service.
 
The employer – the provincial government’s Public Service Agency – confirmed with your bargaining committee yesterday that they are prepared to resume negotiations early next week with a revised monetary offer. As a result, we have scheduled talks to resume in Vancouver April 5th to the 8th. 
 
While the collective agreements expire tomorrow, it is important to remember that under the terms of the Main Agreement – Article 37.5 - Agreement to Continue in Force – both parties have agreed to fully adhere to the terms of the agreement while collective bargaining is ongoing. As we have previously advised, that means April 1st is business as usual for you and your coworkers unless you hear otherwise from our union.
 
We remain steadfast on achieving a fair wage increase, as we've heard loud and clear from you that it is critical to reaching an agreement our members can ratify. As you know, any wage offer that does not provide cost of living protection (COLA) is essentially a wage cut. Our members deserve COLA protections, and government can afford them. 
 
The findings reported this week on the Work Environment Survey (WES) clearly support our arguments for cost of living protections. The survey indicated that pay and benefits satisfaction in the public service showed the most significant decrease with a drop of three points from 2020.
 
While we return to the bargaining table next week, we will also continue with essential services negotiations and strike vote preparations as a standard part of the bargaining process.

We remain committed to getting a fair deal, but we will continue to prepare for every eventuality.
 
Important: Is your contact information up to date?
 
We're asking all members in the public service to update your contact information in the Member Portal before your contract expires end of day today, March 31st. 
 
Click here to visit the BCGEU member portal to review and update your contact information. 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. Thank you.

 
In solidarity,
 
Your BCGEU Public Service Bargaining Committee
 
Stephanie Smith, President
Paul Finch, Treasurer
Judy Phipps, Executive Vice President
Dean Purdy, Vice President - Component 1
Kusam Doal, Vice President - Component 5
Judy Fox-McGuire, Vice President - Component 6
Cynthia Mepham-Egli, Component 6 Acting First Vice-Chairperson
Maria Middlemiss, Vice President - Component 12
Matt Damario, Component 12 First Vice-Chairperson
Robert Davis, Vice President - Component 20
Michael Eso, Secretary and Lead Negotiator
Lisa Lane, Support Staff

Download PDF of notice here

UWU/MoveUP