The bargaining committee for BCGEU members working in support services at the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC) has reached a tentative agreement. This is the second of seven bargaining units within our post-secondary support staff common agreement to do so. The remaining units will commence bargaining soon. Details below. 

An important note: If you haven't already done so, please provide our union with your personal contact information in the BCGEU Member Portal. 

Negotiation status 

As you know, the BCGEU established in September 2022 the first-ever tentative common agreement with the Post-Secondary Employers' Association (PSEA), covering BCGEU members working in support services at seven post-secondary employers.
 
Before ratification of the common agreement can happen, the seven units must each reach their own tentative local agreements. The following units have now done this:

• Douglas College: December 16, 2022
• Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC): January 14, 2023

Bargaining dates for the remaining five units are as follows:

• BC Institute of Technology: January 25 and 27; February 23-24; February 27-March 3
• Coast Mountain College: January 16-20
• Kwantlen Polytechnic University: January 10-11 and January 13; February 1-3
• Northern Lights College: February 6-10
• Okanagan College: TBD (March 2023)

We, your College and Institute Support Service Bargaining Association (CISSBA), will be meeting February 15-17, 2023, at the Fraser Valley BCGEU area office to continue coordinating across all units, share ideas and strategize on common issues.
 
Frequently Asked Questions 

Q: When will ratification voting happen?
A: To demonstrate our solidarity with each other and to the employers, we have agreed to coordinate the timing of our ratification voting. It will take place when all seven tables have reached their tentative local agreements. This means that ratification voting for both the common agreement and the local agreements will happen at the same time. Given scheduled bargaining dates, this will take place in 2023. For a reminder of the bargaining process, review this infographic and this explainer video.
 
Q: Why does bargaining take this long?
A: Local tables bargain local agreements that address issues specific to your institution. Many of these issues are significant and important, so they may take some time to try and resolve.
 
Q: When will wage increases take affect?
A: Although a compensation package (under the 2022 PSEC Shared Recovery mandate) has been settled in the tentative common agreement, no wage increases will take effect until both the local and common agreements are ratified. When that happens, wage increases will be retroactively applied back to July 1, 2022.
 
Important: We need your personal contact info!
 
As bargaining proceeds, we will need to distribute more information to you that may not be appropriate to send through your employer-provided email address. Please ensure that we have your personal contact information by logging in to the BCGEU Member Portal here before your local table bargaining begins. Please encourage your coworkers to do the same.
 
In solidarity,
Your College and Institute Support Service Bargaining Association (CISSBA)

UWU/MoveUP