Last Friday, the nine-union Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA) reached an important agreement with the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) for additional wage increases covering two groups of members in the FBA based on the following wage-rated job classifications:

• Workers in the group with the lowest wage-rated classifications – Grids 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, SB18, SB20, SC18, SD15, SD16, SD16(A), SD18, and SD19 will receive a $0.25 per hour increase retroactive to April 1, 2023.  
  
• Workers in the next lowest wage-rated classifications -- Grids 22, 23 and SD22 – will receive $0.22 per hour increase effective April 1, 2024. 

This is a good interim step towards reversing some of the worst impacts of the BC Liberal's (now BC United) 2004 wage rollbacks. However, our union remains committed to the full restoration of pay equity across the entire facilities subsector. 

The wage comparability review was negotiated in the 2022-2025 FBA collective agreement and is being conducted by a working group made up of representatives from the FBA, the HEABC and the provincial government. This week, the three parties began talks on developing recommendations regarding additional wage adjustments. The recommendations will be provided to the provincial government to consider in the development of its next bargaining mandate, and for the FBA and HEABC to prepare and negotiate as part of the renewal of the 2022-2025 Facilities subsector collective agreement. 

You can expect updates on the working group's progress, as we prepare for the next round of public sector bargaining in 2025. 

If you have any questions, please contact Mahen Ramdharry ([email protected]).

 
In solidarity, 

Mahen Ramdharry 
Vice-President Health Services (Component 4) 

UWU/MoveUP

New inflation figures released today confirm that the maximum wage protections in your collective agreement will be triggered, and members will receive the full 6.75% wage increase starting April 1, 2023.

This brings the total general wage increases for the first two years of the agreement to well over 10% for most members.

Your Facilities Bargaining Association is working with HEABC to make sure that you receive the 2023 wage increase as soon as possible. We will keep you updated when we have more information.

Your current collective agreement – ratified last year – also includes wage protections for the April 1, 2024 wage increases. We expect to have approximations of the April 1, 2024 increase around this time next year. You can find more information about the wage protections and other changes in your collective agreement in the comprehensive report. 

In solidarity,

Your Facilities Bargaining Association Bargaining Committee

UWU/MoveUP

The member unions of the Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA) have ratified a new three-year collective agreement with B.C.'s health employers. The BCGEU is one of nine members of the FBA covering more than 60,000 workers in hospitals, care homes, logistics and supply facilities and other settings within B.C.'s health care system.
 
The vote passed by 64 per cent.
 
The agreement is retroactive to April 1, 2022. It includes a significant compensation package, including general wage increases and cost of living adjustments (COLA), new and improved premiums and allowances, and additional resources to address the impact of historic wage cuts on pay equity.
 
Year one will see hourly wages increased by 25 cents and then by 3.24 per cent. This equates to a minimum combined increase of 4.24 per cent for the majority of workers covered by the agreement.
 
Wages will increase a minimum of 5.5 per cent and by as much as 6.75 per cent based on the COLA formula in year two.
 
In year three, wages will increase by a minimum of two per cent and by as much as three per cent depending on the COLA.
 
There are also provisions to address serious staffing shortages and turnover, including a commitment to staffing hours which will add thousands of new regularized positions to the bargaining unit by 2024.
 
For members working at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, including community forensic clinics, the agreement also provides for a new forensic premium of two per cent for minimum and medium security and community settings and four per cent for maximum and multi-level security.
 
The bargaining unit includes care aides, health records staff, lab and other diagnostic specialists, sterile supply techs, renal technicians, nursing unit assistants, trades and maintenance workers, activity aides and rehab assistants, IT specialists, pharmacy techs, admitting and booking clerks, administrative staff, cleaning and dietary staff, and many others.
 

Voting on our new tentative agreement has now opened, and we will be holding one final information meeting this evening. 

Voting 

This morning you should have received an email from Simply Voting Online Election Systems ([email protected]) with a link to vote online and your unique voting credential. 

Voting will close on Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 8:00 P.M. PDT. Results of the vote will be announced on Thursday, October 13, 2022. 

If you did not receive a voting credential, first check your email junk, spam and quarantine folders. 

If you still do not have a voting credential after checking junk, spam and quarantine folders, this is likely because the BCGEU does not have a personal email address for you. If this is you, or if you experience problems casting your vote, contact [email protected] (preferred), or call 604-291-9611 or toll-free 1-800-663-1674, ASAP after voting opens and by no later than Monday, October 10, 2022 at 9:00 A.M. PDT. This will allow enough time for problems to be addressed before voting closes. Phone support is available only during regular BCGEU office hours. 

A member without a personal email address may request the assistance of a bargaining committee member, steward or fellow member to help set one up. 

Final telephone town hall 

We hope you had a chance to attend a telephone town hall this weekend to make sure you have all the information you need to make an informed vote. 

A third and final telephone town hall is taking place this evening at 7:00 P.M. – you will be called when the telephone town hall starts. Please participate if you haven't already. 

Again, as noted in our previous email, your bargaining committee is unanimously recommending you vote YES to accept the terms of the tentative agreement. 

In solidarity, 

Your Facilities Bargaining Association Bargaining Committee 

PS. If you know of a member who did not receive this bulletin, it is likely because we do not have their personal email address. Please ask them to update their information on the BCGEU Member Portal – my.bcgeu.ca – or by contacting their area office. 

In follow up to yesterday's bulletin, please see this tentative agreement highlights document with additional highlights specific to BCGEU members. 

Again, full details of what was negotiated are available in the comprehensive report on the tentative agreement [here]. The wage calculator is available here. 

For details on voting and ratification information meetings, see yesterday's bulletin here. 

In solidarity, 

Your Facilities Bargaining Association Bargaining Committee 

PS. If you know of a member who did not receive this bulletin, it is likely because we do not have their personal email address. Please ask them to update their information on the BCGEU Member Portal – my.bcgeu.ca – or by contacting their area office. 

After reaching a tentative agreement earlier this month, our committee would now like to present the agreement to the membership for a vote. Full details of what was negotiated are available in the comprehensive report on the tentative agreement [here] and highlights include:

• Wage increases of up to 14.6% to 14.9% over the next 18 months for most members. (See the FBA wage calculator here).
• Renewed commitment to reversing privatization, including bringing support workers at Fraser Health P3s back in-house.
• Standby and callout compensation for members at BC Emergency Health Services IT Operations and Telecommunications.
• An additional hourly premium of 2% or 4% for members working in forensic minimum or medium security units or community settings, or maximum or multi-level security units.

This is an important decision. To make sure you have all the information you need to make an informed vote, we encourage you to attend one of the following one-hour telephone town hall meetings:

• Saturday, October 1 at 10:00 am: Ratification Information Meeting #1
• Sunday, October 2 at 1:00 pm: Ratification Information Meeting #2
• Monday, October 3 at 7:00 pm: Ratification Information Meeting #3

You will be called when the telephone town hall starts. To ensure you can participate (and to ensure your voting credentials go to the right place) our union must have your current phone number and personal email address on file. You can review and update this information now on the BCGEU Member Portal – my.bcgeu.ca – or by contacting your area office.

Component 4 vice-president and bargaining committee member Mahen Ramdharry is also available to answer questions directly until the close of voting. He can be reached via email at [email protected]. 

Your bargaining committee is unanimously recommending you vote YES to accept the terms of the tentative agreement.

Voting information

Voting will open on Monday, October 3rd, 2022 at 8:00 AM PDT and will close on Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 8:00 PM PDT. On the morning of the 3rd '[email protected]' will email you a link to vote online and your unique voting credential. Please participate and vote.

The voting credential will be emailed to you from [email protected]. Please add this email address as a contact or approved sender in your email client-this will help ensure the credential is delivered to your inbox.

A member without a personal email address may request the assistance of a bargaining committee member, steward or fellow member to help set one up.

Troubleshooting

If you do not receive a voting credential, first check your email junk, spam and quarantine folders.

If you still do not have a voting credential after checking junk, spam and quarantine folders, this is likely because the BCGEU does not have a personal email address for you. If this is you, or if you experience problems casting your vote, contact [email protected] (preferred), or call 604-291-9611 or toll-free 1-800-663-1674, ASAP after voting opens and by no later than Monday, October 10, 2022 at 9:00 AM PDT. This will allow enough time for problems to be addressed before voting closes. Phone support is available only during regular BCGEU office hours.

We are pleased to present a tentative agreement that includes new provisions to address the stress you're facing at work, allow more opportunities to upgrade your skills or change health care occupations, and offer wage increases not seen in decades.

In solidarity,

Your Facilities Bargaining Association Bargaining Committee


PS. If you know of a member who did not receive this bulletin, it is likely because we do not have their personal email address. Please ask them to update their information on the BCGEU Member Portal – my.bcgeu.ca – or by contacting their area office.

UWU/MoveUP

As you know, our committee and union partners reached a tentative agreement earlier this month covering more than 60,000 health care workers in the facilities subsector.
 
Under this tentative agreement, members will see a significant boost in their pay over the next 18 months.
 
Most will see wage increases of 14.6% to 14.9% under the maximum cost of living adjustment (COLA) triggers we've negotiated.
 
Protecting members' wages against rising costs was key to reaching a settlement, but we've also delivered on other key priorities set out for bargaining last fall.

This includes stronger health & safety protections, a worker voice on shift scheduling and extended hours agreements, and millions of additional hours of staffing will help us address the crushing workloads you face, while providing more opportunities for work-life balance. You will also see more money in your pocket with higher shift premiums, reimbursement for required criminal record checks and professional college registration fees, significant improvements to TQ premiums, and clothing and transportation allowances.

For full details, read the comprehensive report on the tentative agreement here.

Our committee is proud of our work to negotiate an agreement for the unprecedented times we are facing in health care and in the economy. New provisions address the stress you're facing at work, allow more opportunities to upgrade your skills or change health care occupations, and offer wage increases not seen in decades.
 
We will be holding a telephone town hall in the weeks to come to discuss the details of the comprehensive report, and to answer any questions you may have ahead of the ratification vote on the tentative agreement.

In solidarity,

Your Facilities Bargaining Association Bargaining Committee

Comprehensive report on the tentative agreement [PDF]

UWU/MoveUP

The agreement secures major investments to attract and retain workers including an expanded Health Care Access Program (HCAP) and $4.5 million in funding to the FBA Education Fund.

The tentative agreement builds on the unions' historic work to undo the damage of years of privatization by the former BC Liberal government, with a commitment to bring in contracted support services workers at Fraser Health P3 hospitals and facilities back in-house.

An additional 9.25 million hours of staffing will be added to the bargaining unit, with a commitment that three out of four positions created will be regularized and full-time. This adds more than 2,000 staff to the bargaining unit in addition to previously repatriated support workers.

Making workplaces safer was also a top membership priority. Workers will now have input into care plans for aggressive patients or residents, and greater access to violence prevention training. JOHSC committee rights have also been extended, and occupational health and safety also includes physical and psychological health and safety.

The bargaining committee negotiated a ground-breaking agreement on scheduling that will help with work-life balance. It provides for member-initiated proposals to help reduce the number of six-day rotations. Additionally, a number of leave provisions in the collective agreement have been improved.

our BCGEU members of the Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA) Bargaining Committee are unanimously recommending that members vote yes to ratify the tentative agreement when ratification votes are held in the coming weeks. The agreement covers more than 60,000 health care workers across B.C., more than 2,000 of whom are BCGEU members.

The tentative agreement links wage increases to inflation, improves premiums and other compensation, and takes action on staffing shortages and burnout on health care’s front lines.

The proposed three-year contract includes general wage increases linked to cost of living indicators. A detailed explanation of the cost of living trigger will be provided in the weeks ahead, but here’s what it means for members:

•  Year 1 – Effective April 1, 2022 increase all rates of pay by 25 cents an hour and then increase all rates of pay by 3.24%. These wage increases are retroactive to April 1, 2022.
• Year 2 – Effective April 1, 2023 increase rates of pay by the annualized average increase of the BC Consumer Price Index (CPI) over the 12 months starting on March 1, 2022, to a minimum of 5.5% and a maximum of 6.75%.
• Year 3 - Effective April 1, 2024 increase rates of pay by the annualized average increase of the BC CPI over 12 months starting on March 1, 2023, to a minimum of 2% and a maximum of 3%.

For clarity, if the maximum increases in Year 2 and Year 3 are triggered, members of the bargaining unit will see their wages increase by more than 14% by April 1, 2024. A care aide at Grid 22, for example, would see their wages increase by 14.6% by April 1, 2024.

The tentative agreement also addresses the historic 2004 wage cuts to the bargaining unit through a joint process with employers and government to make recommendations for the next round of bargaining. As an interim step, $15.6 million in ongoing funding will provide wage adjustments starting with the lowest-wage workers in April 2023.

Over the term of the agreement, weekend premiums increase to $2.15 an hour; evening premiums to $1.90 an hour and night premiums to $3.20 an hour. Some of those increases will be retroactive.

In recognition of uniquely challenging working conditions, the tentative agreement will create a new premium for FBA members working at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital and forensic community clinics. BCGEU FBA members working in Minimum and Medium security units and community settings will be eligible for an additional hourly premium of 2%, while those working in Maximum or Multi-level security units will be eligible for an additional hourly premium of 4%.

The tentative agreement also renews the memorandum of agreement regarding callout compensation for BCGEU FBA members working in BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) IT operations and telecommunications.

Criminal record checks, FoodSafe refresher courses, and professional fees for Regulated Pharmacy Technicians will now be fully covered by the employer. Required sick notes will be 50% covered by the employer. Transportation and uniform allowances and the Trades Qualification premium, are also improved.

Up to $125 a year will be reimbursed by the employer for required Canadian Standard Association (CSA) certified grade one or two protective toecap or electrical protective footwear.

The agreement secures major investments to attract and retain workers including an expanded Health Care Access Program (HCAP) and $4.5 million in funding to the FBA Education Fund.

The tentative agreement builds on the unions’ historic work to undo the damage of years of privatization by the former BC Liberal government, with a commitment to bring in contracted support services workers at Fraser Health P3 hospitals and facilities back in-house.

An additional 9.25 million hours of staffing will be added to the bargaining unit, with a commitment that three out of four positions created will be regularized and full-time. This adds more than 2,000 staff to the bargaining unit in addition to previously repatriated support workers.

Making workplaces safer was also a top membership priority. Workers will now have input into care plans for aggressive patients or residents, and greater access to violence prevention training. JOHSC committee rights have also been extended, and occupational health and safety also includes physical and psychological health and safety.

The bargaining committee negotiated a ground-breaking agreement on scheduling that will help with work-life balance. It provides for member-initiated proposals to help reduce the number of six-day rotations. Additionally, a number of leave provisions in the collective agreement have been improved.

New funding will expand the number of Enhanced Disability Management Program (EDMP) stewards.

The agreement includes provisions to address harassment and bullying, promote trans inclusion, and to ensure culturally safe health care delivery.

The union is currently preparing a comprehensive report on the settlement including the full text of more than 100 negotiated provisions. In addition, a number of opportunities are being scheduled so members can learn more before voting on the tentative agreement.

BCGEU and the other FBA unions will schedule ratification votes on the agreement over the next several weeks.

In solidarity,

Your Facilities Bargaining Association

UWU/MoveUP

The nine-union Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA), representing more than 60,000 hospital and long-term care workers in B.C., reached a tentative agreement late last night with the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC).

The three-year agreement includes significant compensation improvements as well as a number of measures to tackle serious staffing shortages and worker burnout. We've secured major new investments in training and education and a commitment to hire thousands of new workers. This will provide members with career mobility, reduced workloads and more secure work which is key to addressing the staffing crisis we face today.

As you know, protecting members' earnings against rising costs has been a key priority for our committee. This settlement provides for inflation-sensitive wage increases and other compensation improvements that will help keep skilled, experienced workers in health care, and attract new workers to careers in our hospitals and care homes.

Other provisions give workers a greater voice on changes to shifts and rotations, providing more opportunities to improve work-life balance. And in a sector with some of the highest injury rates in the province, the agreement also includes more comprehensive health and safety protections.

Addressing cuts and privatization under the former government, the agreement provides for the return of more contracted out workers to public sector employment and sets out a process to address the impact of historic wage cuts.

There are also a number of agreed-to provisions that promote greater inclusion and equity in health care, including measures to strengthen our progress towards reconciliation and culturally safe health care delivery.

We're proud of what we achieved in bargaining, and we look forward to sharing full details of the agreement with you in advance of voting on the agreement. Dates have not yet been scheduled.

In solidarity,

Your Facilities Bargaining Association Bargaining Committee 

UWU/MoveUP