Click here for info on Bargaining 2025

  1. News - BC General Employees' Union
  2. Media Release: BCGEU community health workers ratify four-year deal to close long-standing pay gaps - BC General Employees' Union (BCGEU)

Media Release: BCGEU community health workers ratify four-year deal to close long-standing pay gaps - BC General Employees' Union (BCGEU)

Published on March 20, 2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

March 20, 2026 

 

BCGEU community health workers ratify four-year deal to close long-standing pay gaps 

 

BURNABY, B.C. (Coast Salish Territories) – More than 27,000 community health workers across the province have ratified a new four-year collective agreement aimed at narrowing long-standing wage gaps and strengthening frontline community care across the province. 

The agreement between the member unions of the Community Bargaining Association (CBA) and the Health Employers Association of British Columbia (HEABC) was ratified with more than 91 per cent support. The B.C. General Employees' Union (BCGEU) is the lead union in the association, representing over 16,000 members. 

"In this round of bargaining, community health workers were determined to close long-standing pay gaps and win a clear path toward parity with other health care workers doing similar jobs - and they achieved that," said Scott De Long, Bargaining Chair and BCGEU Vice-President, Component 8, Community Health Services. "But these negotiations were never just about money. Pay gaps create care gaps. The progress made in this round is good for workers and good for the growing number of British Columbians who rely on community health services." 

The new four-year agreement includes annual wage increases of three per cent in each year, improved weekend and afternoon premium pay, strong occupational health and safety protections, funding for health benefit improvements, and a more predictable scheduling system among other gains. 

Community health workers provide essential services across B.C., including home support, shelters and supportive housing, clinics, detox and treatment programs, mental health group homes, and regional health units. 

The new agreement is effective April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2029. 

About 10,000 members of the CBA belong to six other unions including UFCW, HEU, HSA, CUPE, USWA and BCNU. For more visit: https://www.bargainingbc.ca/community_health 

The BCGEU is one of the largest unions in British Columbia, with over 95,000 members in almost every community and economic sector. 

-30-

Media contact:
Bronwen Barnett | BCGEU Communications | 604-719-4713 | [email protected]



UWU/MoveUP