Victoria – The Health Employers Association of BC has reached a tentative agreement with members of the Community Health Bargaining Association (CBA) under the Province’s Shared Recovery Mandate.
The tentative agreement covers approximately 21,700 health-care support workers employed in a variety of community settings, such as private homes, group homes, residential community living homes, supported employment programs, child development centres, adult day programs, mental-health centres, community service agencies and health authorities throughout B.C.
Community health workers make up the largest classification group in this subsector. Community health workers are employed to provide home-support services through contracted agencies and directly for the Province’s health authorities.
Negotiations under the Shared Recovery Mandate support government’s key priorities to improve public services and the health-care system, while supporting the Province’s continued economic recovery for all.
Details about the agreement will be available after the ratification process for the union members and the health employers is complete.
More than 500,000 people work across the provincial public sector in the core public service, at Crown corporations, in health, community social services, kindergarten-to-Grade 12 public education and at post-secondary institutions and research universities.
Of those people, approximately 393,000 are unionized employees paid under collective agreements or professionals paid through negotiated compensation agreements.
From BCGEU:
After almost a year of negotiations the Community Bargaining Association (CBA) reached a tentative agreement on a new collective agreement with the Health Employers Association of British Columbia (HEABC) in the early hours of Sunday, January 15. The agreement covers more than 21,000 community health workers across B.C.
The tentative agreement represents substantial gains in key areas identified by members including significant wage increases, protecting workers’ benefits, and providing greater control over working conditions.
“In this round of bargaining, our members’ main goal was to make meaningful progress toward closing the pay gap with their peers in other health sectors,” said BCGEU (BC General Employees’ Union) president Stephanie Smith. “Thanks to the solidarity and resolve of members in the sector, they met this goal and have made important gains towards the long-term sustainability of the community health sector. I’d like to thank the bargaining committee for its dedication to members and to all the people of B.C. that rely on these vital services.”
The tentative agreement has a three-year term and includes a general wage increase in each year. It also contains additional low wage redress monies, and the retention of benefits and seniority should workers move jobs within the same health authority.
Full details will be shared with members in the coming weeks as the union prepares for ratification. The ratification vote is expected to be completed before the end of February.
The BCGEU is the lead union representing 13,000 of the 21,000 members of the CBA. Other unions at the table were UFCW, HEU, CUPE, HSA, USW, CLAC and BCNU
