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COMPONENT 3 - COMMUNITY SOCIAL SERVICES

Component 3 includes members who work in community social services.

These caring professionals provide supports, services, and resources to vulnerable families and individuals across the province. They include supporting adults and children with developmental disabilities, women and children fleeing violence, youth-at-risk, child care, community justice services, Indigenous services, and employment services, among others. With over 15,000 workers in the sector, BCGEU is the largest community social services union in B.C.

NEWS & UPDATES

May 20, 2020

BCGEU releases investor brief calling on Thomson Reuters (TSX, NYSE: TRI) to ...

Ahead of the Thomson Reuters (TSX, NYSE: TRI) annual meeting of shareholders on June 3, 2020, the BCGEU has released an investor brief about its shareholder proposal, raising concerns about human rights impacts at the $8-billion software and media company. The Proposal asks the Thomson Reuters board to investigate and disclose whether it has adequately assessed and mitigated the reputational an...

May 19, 2020

Provincial government announces details of pandemic pay program for essential...

In mid-April the federal government announced it was working with the provinces on a cost-shared, temporary "pandemic pay" program to top up the wages of select essential frontline workers-under the cost-share, the federal government is responsible for 75 per cent of the funding and the provincial governments are responsible for the remaining 25 per cent. Ever since the initial announcement, yo...

May 19, 2020

BCGEU calls for expansion of B.C.’s pandemic pay program for essential workers

BURNABY, B.C. – Today the B.C. government released long-awaited details of a federal-provincial cost-shared pandemic pay program to temporarily top up the wages of some essential workers. The B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU) is calling on Victoria to expand the program to cover more essential frontline workers. "The BCGEU pushed hard for this program to cover the broadest po...

May 19, 2020

COVID-19 Update and BC Government Restart Plan - BCGEU

Greetings to my fellow early childhood educators. Hopefully you saw Premier John Horgan's press conference on Friday announcing that childcare and education are entering Phase 2 of the government's Restart Plan. In that announcement, both the Premier and Minister Katrina Chen, Minister of State for Child Care, acknowledged the vital work performed by early childhood educators and child care pro...

May 12, 2020

May is child care month- thank you for all that you do! - BCGEU

May is child care month- an opportunity to honour the many professionals that work in early learning and child development.As an early childhood educator and activist, I've worked with many of you to advocate, agitate and fight for a child care system that works for everyone- for families, for children and for workers. And we have made some real progress with new supports and solutions.The last...

May 11, 2020

Fair Wages COVID-19 Update, Sectoral Component 3 - BCGEU

On April 24th we updated you about the efforts we have been making with respect to ensuring that you are safe while you are at work and also ensuring that you are fairly compensated for the important work you do each and every day in the community social services (CSS) sector. We know that you provide care and support to some of the most vulnerable members of society in British Columbia and the...

May 07, 2020

The Provincial Spring 2020 - BCGEU

Check out the latest issue of The Provincial  This issue has updates on our union's Equity, Inclusion & Diversity Strengthen All of Us roundtable, our COVID-19 information hub, the fight against massive rent increases and our union's new Affordable BC podcast. UWU/MoveUP

May 07, 2020

Restarting B.C. -- your rights and union news - BCGEU

Restarting B.C. -- your rights and union news Yesterday B.C. was full of cautious anticipation as Premier Horgan announced the steps we'll be taking to restart the province safely.Throughout the past two months, many BCGEU members have been on the front lines of the pandemic, limiting the spread of COVID-19. At the same time, countless others have been providing vital public services that keep ...

May 05, 2020

Sign our petition to end for-profit seniors’ care in B.C. - BCGEU

Right now, 79 per cent Canada's COVID-19 deaths are connected to long-term care facilities and make up the majority of deaths in B.C. Many seniors and elders have faced the end of their lives alone and their families have been left to pick up the pieces. We have known since the start of this pandemic that elderly people are most at risk, but we knew the senior's care sector was in crisis long b...

May 01, 2020

A May Day message from President Stephanie Smith - BCGEU

May 1st is International Workers Day. Historically, it is a commemoration of the Haymarket affair, a rally that took place in Chicago on May 4, 1886 in support of a general strike for an 8 hour workday that had happened in communities across the United States three days prior. At the time workdays of up to 16 hours were normal-as were six-day workweeks, child labour, and workplace deaths and in...

April 30, 2020

Community Social Services workers delivering essential services every day - B...

Send us a photo of you at work! To tell the story of the important work that all of you continue to do, we have been running a very successful campaign on social media with BCGEU members sharing photos of themselves at work. We'd love to hear from you in Community Social Services!Please participate in our social media campaign by providing a photograph of yourself at work performing your essent...

April 30, 2020

16% of Loblaw Independent Shareholders Vote for Greater Human Rights Oversigh...

16% of Loblaw Independent Shareholders Vote for Greater Human Rights Oversight at Canada's Largest Food Retailer   Today, Loblaw's independent shareholders voted 16% in favour of a human rights shareholder proposal filed by B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU). The proposal asks Canada's largest food retailer to assign board-level responsibility for human rights. Loblaw scores ...

April 29, 2020

Union Shareholder Proposal Highlights Human Rights Risk at Canada’s Largest F...

Media Advisory For Immediate Release  Union Shareholder Proposal Highlights Human Rights Risk at Canada’s Largest Food Retailer On April 30, 2020, BCGEU will present a human rights shareholder proposal at Loblaw's annual general meeting. According to international reports, Loblaw is a human rights laggard behind global peers.   WHO: B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU) WHAT: Sha...

April 24, 2020

Fair pay and safe working conditions – COVID-19 update, Component 3 - BCGEU

Fair pay and safe working conditions for Community Social Service workers Every day, workers like you in the community social services (CSS) sector face challenges in providing critical supports and services to some of the most vulnerable members of our society. Now, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, workers have additional concerns and challenges about their own safety and that of the clie...

April 23, 2020

JOHS committees must continue meeting during COVID-19 pandemic - BCGEU

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever for Joint Occupational Health and Safety (JOHS) Committees to meet and discuss COVID-19-related health and safety issues they are dealing with in their workplace.Your union has heard that some employers are telling JOHS committees to cancel or suspend their meetings until further notice. This violates the requirements of the Workers C...