Your Public Service Bargaining Committee continues to monitor the employer’s implementation of the terms of the 19th main agreement. It is vital that members understand that the employer is responsible for implementing the terms of the agreement.

When the final version of the agreement is formatted and ready for production, you will receive the complete agreement. Please note that this process can take several weeks. In the meantime, you can access the memorandum of settlement with all new language on both the Public Service Agency (PSA) and BCGEU websites. In addition, details and FAQs can be found here. FAQs are updated on a regular basis and are your best source for answers to many questions.
 
Since our last communication, several areas of the new collective agreement have been generating many member questions. Here are some of the most common questions:

1. Archived vacation payout 

The collective agreement required that vacation carryover in excess of 10 days will be archived and not paid out until termination of employment.
 
As part of the 19^th main agreement the employer has committed to a one-time full payout of all archived vacation up to and including the 2021 vacation year. The PSA has committed to send an email to all employees this month about this process, and these payouts will be made by December 23rd, 2022.  

1. Illness and injury leave to be paid at 100% for first 5 days 

 The collective agreement now provides for all employees, auxiliary or regular, who have been employed for 90 consecutive days to be entitled up to five days of paid illness or injury leave. Employees who took sick leave earlier this year that was paid at 75% are entitled to have those days paid at 100% consistent with the terms of the renewed collective agreement.  
 
If you want to have previous STIIP absences topped up in accordance the new provisions of the collective agreement, the PSA is requiring employees to submit a service request to AskMyHR. If you do not have access to MyHR, in the LDB for example, these requests should be directed to your human resources department. It is important to remember you should initiate your request by the end of the year to be retroactively compensated at 100%.

1. Supplemental leave 

The renewed collective agreement contains a new provision for up to two days of supplemental leave with pay per calendar year subject to the 70-hour maximum leave entitlement outlined in Article 20.12.
 
Effective April 1st, 2022, an employee shall be entitled to two days of supplemental leave at their regular rate of pay per calendar year. These days are subject to operational requirements and cannot be attached to other leaves of absence, including vacation and paid statutory holidays. This may be used in one-half shift increments.

Members should also be aware that these days can be attached to flex days resulting from a modified work week. In addition, the supplemental leave can be used two days in a row.

In their FAQ, the employer has also noted that: “Such leave shall not be unreasonably withheld.”
 
We have heard from many members that their requests to take this leave are being denied. If your request for this supplemental leave meets the criterion outlined in the collective agreement, and you believe your request is being unreasonably denied, please contact a steward and file a grievance. 

1. Pay increases and retroactive payment 

As we have previously advised, the implementation of pay increases will likely take place in two stages: The introduction of the new pay rates will take place first. Following that, retroactive payments will follow.
 
The PSA has said that BCGEU pay increases are targeted for the December 23rd payday. Processing of exceptions will be completed in following pay cycles and then retroactive pay can be expected in 2023. In some areas we understand wage increases have already been implemented and retroactive payments are in process.
 
We continue to monitor this closely and are in regular contact with the employer about this. The process of implementing our new wage rates and paying retroactive payments is taking far too long from our perspective. To make matters worse, in some areas such as the Pension Corporation it appears that managers have received their new pay rates before BCGEU members. This is unacceptable and we have shared our strong concerns with the PSA.
 
We are continuing to monitor these implementation issues and will update you as needed.
 
In solidarity,
 
Your BCGEU Public Service Bargaining Committee
 
Stephanie Smith, President and Committee Chair
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
Kayla Woodruff, First Vice President - Component 6
Maria Middlemiss, Vice President - Component 12
DJ Pohl, First Vice President, Component 12
Robert Davis, Vice President - Component 20
Michael Eso, Secretary and Lead Negotiator
Lisa Lane, Support Staff
 
UWU/MoveUP