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• General Post-Secondary Bargaining FAQs
• Instructors (IBC) Bargaining FAQs
• Support (CISSBA) Bargaining FAQs

General Post-Secondary Bargaining FAQs

Who negotiates the Post-Secondary common agreements?

The BCGEU has two bargaining councils that negotiates common agreements with the Post-Secondary Employers' Association (PSEA): the Instructors Bargaining Council (IBC) who negotiates on behalf of vocational instructors; and the College and Institute Support Service Bargaining Association (CISSBA) who negotiates on behalf of administrative professionals.

• The IBC is a multi-employer council, consisting of chairpersons from seven BCGEU bargaining units (Camosun College, Coast Mountain College, Northern Lights College, Okanagan College, Selkirk College, Vancouver Island University and British Columbia Institute of Technology).
• The CISSBA is also a multi-employer council, consisting of chairpersons from seven BCGEU bargaining units (British Columbia Institute of Technology, Coast Mountain College, Douglas College, Justice Institute of BC, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Northern Lights College and Okanagan College).

How many workers total are covered by the Post-Secondary common (IBC and CISSBA) agreements?

Over 4,100 workers are covered by the two common agreements: 1,200 vocational instructors (IBC) and 2,900 support staff (CISSBA).

The BCGEU is the only union representing workers covered by these agreements.

What kind of jobs do post-secondary workers do?

Post-secondary members work as vocational instructors and support staff at post-secondary institutions across B.C. 

What is a common agreement? What is a local agreement? How do these differ from a sectoral agreement?

All three agreements (common, local and sectoral) are ways for workers to collectively negotiate minimum standards of employment.

But they differ in who and what they cover: 

• A local agreement covers BCGEU members working in the same occupation for one employer. A local agreement addresses issues specific to those workers and their specific employer, such as health and safety.
• A common agreement covers BCGEU members working in the same occupation for multiple employers. A common agreement addresses (and aims to standardize) issues shared amongst those workers and their employers, such as compensation and workload.
• Sectoral agreements are like common agreements in terms of what they cover but differ from common agreements in who they cover. Sectoral agreements cover members from multiple unions working in the same occupation for multiple employers. 

Which BCGEU bargaining units are covered by the vocational instructors common agreement?

The BCGEU's post-secondary vocational instructors common agreement with the PSEA covers members working for Camosun College, Coast Mountain College, Northern Lights College, Okanagan College and Selkirk College. BCGEU members working for Vancouver Island University and British Columbia Institute of Technology participate in common agreement bargaining preparation and we're hopeful the employer representatives will participate this round as well. 

Which BCGEU bargaining units are covered by the support staff common agreement?

The BCGEU's post-secondary support staff common agreement with the PSEA covers members working for the British Columbia Institute of Technology, Coast Mountain College, Douglas College, Justice Institute of BC, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Northern Lights College and Okanagan College.

Who negotiates my local agreement?

Local agreements are negotiated by your local BCGEU bargaining committee. The chairperson of each local bargaining committee participates on the BCGEU bargaining councils - IBC and CISSBA. Connect with your relevant chairperson to find out more about your local bargaining committee.

Is there something we can do while we wait for negotiations to start? 

Although we are in a waiting period, it’s important we remain active. Please show up to union meetings, ask questions, read emails from your bargaining committee, make sure the BCGEU Member Portal has your current contact info, respond to texts from fellow members asking you to take action, talk to your stewards and bargaining committee, and take solidarity action (like wearing a button, signing a petition, etc.) with fellow BCGEU members when asked. 

You can also sign this petition, advocating for the Canadian government to address the state of our country’s post-secondary sector: https://savepostsecondary.ca/  

Will we go on strike? 

Because we are very early in the bargaining process, it's difficult to predict whether we will go on strike. There are many steps between now and then. 

Going on strike is one of the most powerful tools that we have as union members, and using it shows that we have a strong and unified bargaining unit. A strong strike vote alone gives our bargaining committees more leverage at the table.  

However, we take the responsibility of withholding our labour (like striking) seriously and only use it when it's necessary. There are a number of other effective ways to show our unity prior to going on strike.  

To arrive at job action, our bargaining committee would have to feel that we've accomplished all we can at the bargaining table but are still short of what feels like a fair collective agreement that members would accept. At that point, the bargaining committee would reach out to members, explain the status of negotiations, and conduct a strike vote to test members' willingness to take job action. Our union would go on strike only after a successful strike vote – in other words, if the result is a strong majority voting "yes".  

That said, a successful strike vote isn't a guarantee of going on strike. Our committees will often return to bargaining with the strength of the vote at their backs. 

Why are we bargaining again so soon – didn’t we just get our current collective agreement? 

It’s true that we received our current common contract just a few months ago. However, that contract has been in effect since we ratified it in 2022. It was a three-year agreement.  

Will the results of the survey I completed be shared with me?  

Due to the confidential nature of the survey you completed, we cannot share exact results. However, we can share with you the top five issues named by BCGEU instructors working at all seven institutions: wages, workload, job security, health and welfare benefits, and professional development fund. These issues will guide how we prioritize our efforts in bargaining.  

Why is the bargaining process so confidential? What can you share with members? 

Collective bargaining involves sensitive information, particularly worker-related data, and must be handled with strict care to maintain privacy and comply with labour laws and ethical standards.  

Collective bargaining is also a strategic process, and sharing too much, too early can tip our hand. (It’s not uncommon for our communication with you to reach the employer.) 

We don’t take for granted the trust you’re placing in us to advocate for your best collective interest. We want to reiterate that we are committed to keeping you informed as strategically possible while ensuring a fair and productive bargaining process. Our goal is a fair contract for us all. We welcome questions at any time and will do our very best to answer them. 

Where can I learn more about the bargaining process for my collective agreement? 

As a BCGEU member working for a post-secondary institution, you are covered by two types of agreements: a local agreement and a common agreement. Read more about these agreements and how they’re bargained here. 

There is a third type of agreement you may have heard of: sectoral agreement. Although you (a BCGEU member working in the post-secondary sector) do not have a sectoral agreement, it is important to know that some of your BCGEU siblings do and, as one union, we negotiate with the same ultimate employer - the provincial government. Read more about the sectoral bargaining process here and about your fellow BCGEU members working in other public sectors here. 

What’s our union doing about all the Section 54s (layoffs) happening in the post-secondary sector?  

When an institution serves a Section 54 notice, union representatives (unit committee members, stewards and/or staff reps) meet with impacted workers to discuss options and mitigate impact. 

What is our union’s position on the lack of government support for our sector?  

Our component vice-president and our union’s government relations team are in regular conversations with the relevant provincial ministers, as well as with our affiliates, Canada Labour Congress and National Union of Public and General Employees who are pressuring the federal government to do more for post-secondary. 

What can I do about all the other issues I’m dealing with (like job security, workload)?  

As always, your stewards, occupational health and safety representatives, and unit committee members are your resources to help address issues you’re having at work. Reach out to them if you haven’t already. These fellow union members communicate regularly with each other and our component vice-president and executive, ensuring that common issues needing broader political advocacy (say to the respective government ministry) are raised. 

Will my institution operate in the future? Will I have a job?  

We recognize that we’re in uncertain times. Although we don’t have answers or control over how our employers will operate or be funded, we do have control over how we respond – and that includes insisting and pressuring them to follow our collective agreements. We suspect that more information about the state of our employers will be provided when they release their operating budgets, which we hear could happen in early summer.  

Instructors (IBC) Bargaining FAQs

The following was updated March 31, 2025.

How’s bargaining going? Have we started? Why or why not? 

As we last wrote to you in January, our union has begun preparations to renew our collective agreements through bargaining with our employers and their bargaining agent, the Post-Secondary Employers’ Association (PSEA).  

A significant part of that prep was done by you - completing our bargaining survey in January. Thank you for doing this! We received a record number of responses from each of our seven units, indicating your priorities and concerns. As the chairs of your bargaining committees, we are now identifying the top issues for our individual units and, together, the top common issues facing all seven units. We will then prepare proposals for the employers’ agent. 

On March 31, 2025, we served our employers Notice to Bargain. Our next steps are to determine a bargaining protocol - the rules by which we (the union) and the employers' agent (PSEA) will bargain (e.g., "local tables will commence bargaining before the common table.") - and set dates to bargain.

Although we hoped in January that dates would have already been set by now, they have not. Given the unknown ramifications of U.S. tariffs, and an undetermined mandate, the PSEA has requested to wait to begin bargaining. This means our contract will expire (but will still be in effect – see above) before we settle the next one. 

To be clear, we do not want to wait. There are many important non-monetary matters that we could be working on with PSEA while the monetary mandate is determined. We are pushing to commence bargaining immediately. 

Learn more about PSEC and “the mandate” and how it applies to post-secondary bargaining here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHAaRCW-Kw0  

Support (CISSBA) Bargaining FAQs

Why aren’t dates set to exchange proposals with our employer (i.e., start bargaining)? 

Given the unknown ramifications of U.S. tariffs, and an undetermined mandate, the PSEA has requested to wait to begin bargaining. However, our union does not want to wait – there are many important non-monetary matters that could start being resolved while the monetary mandate is determined. We are pushing to commence bargaining immediately.  

Will I be without a collective agreement if our union doesn’t negotiate a new one before the current one expires? 

We want to reassure you that the terms of our agreement will stay in effect until a new one is negotiated and ratified. This is outlined in our collective agreements under the section titled “Terms of Agreement – Notice to Bargain” and means that, until a new agreement is ratified, you continue to go to work as usual and adhere to the terms of the current agreement. We also want to assure you that we will bargain for any wage lift to be retroactive to July 1, 2025. 

Why does our bargaining start later than other public sector workers, including other BCGEU members? 

The BCGEU represents 73,000 members working in the public sector either directly or indirectly for the B.C. government. Bargaining the collective agreements for post-secondary support workers is part of the BCGEU’s overall public sector bargaining efforts. 

Do I have more than one collective agreement? 

Post-secondary support staff represented by the BCGEU have two agreements: an individual agreement with their specific employer (which you can find by searching your employer’s name here) and a common agreement with our employers’ bargaining agent, the Post-Secondary Employers' Association (or PSEA) (which you can find here).