Over a two-week voting period, members of the public service bargaining unit voted 53.4% in favour of the tentative agreement reached with your employer, B.C.'s Public Service Agency (PSA), on September 6, 2022. The 19^th Main Agreement is now the collective agreement covering your bargaining unit.
 
The vote was conducted and verified by Simply Voting – a secure, independent online voting platform. Voting closed Monday, October 17, 2022 at 5 p.m. Following the close of voting, your Public Service Bargaining Committee joined BCGEU staff and component scrutineers at BCGEU headquarters to receive the final vote count. More than 71% of the 32,600 eligible members in the bargaining unit voted in the ratification process.
 
Highlights of your new three-year agreement include:

• A three-year term from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2025.
• General wage increases:
  • Year one (retroactive to April 1, 2022): 25 cent/hour increase, plus 3.24 per cent.
  • Year two (effective April 1, 2023): A wage increase between 5.5-6.75 per cent calculated based on the annual average Consumer Price Index for B.C.
  • Year three (effective April 1, 2024): A wage increase between 2-3 per cent increase calculated based on the annual average Consumer Price Index for B.C.
• Improvements to occupational health and safety
• Improvements to mental health in the workplace
• Employment security
• Equity and worker's rights
• Improved and more flexible leave provisions

In addition to the main agreement, the component agreements for components 5, 6, 12 and 20 also ratified.

Changes to the agreements with a specified date – like wage increases and Temporary Market Adjustments – are effective as of the stated date. Undated changes take effect at date of ratification.

Your bargaining committee will provide updates when the timing of retroactive wage payments has been determined. Remember, you can find many more helpful resources – including a wage calculator and a detailed summary of the agreement – on this web page.
 
We would like to thank each member who took the time to get educated about the tentative agreement and vote in the ratification.
 
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
Matt Damario, Component 12
Robert Davis, Vice President - Component 20
Michael Eso, Secretary and Lead Negotiator
Lisa Lane, Support Staff