Vancouver Island University and its faculty represented by the BC Government and Service Employees' Union have now ratified a two-year agreement under the government's 2010 mandate, announced Finance Minister Kevin Falcon.

The agreement covers 350 faculty members who deliver trades, health sciences, adult basic education and international education at VIU. Other programs at VIU are delivered by members of the Vancouver Island University Faculty Association, which is currently on strike.

More than 70 per cent of university faculty across B.C. are now covered by agreements negotiated under the 2010 mandate, including UBC, RRU, UVic, SFU, UNBC and Thompson Rivers University's open learning faculty.

Government has already announced its intention to control spending on wages during this round of bargaining. To protect jobs and preserve vital services British Columbians depend on, government does not have any funding for new wage increases as collective agreements are renewed.

There are approximately 306,000 unionized workers in occupations throughout B.C.'s public sector, the great majority of which have agreements that expired between March 31, 2010 and Dec. 31, 2010. More than two-thirds of those employees have now renegotiated agreements that were set to expire in 2010, including agreements covering 99 per cent of health-care workers.

Learn More:

Updated bargaining information is available at:

http://www.aved.gov.bc.ca/psec/bargaining2010/

Contact:
Sarah Harrison
Communications Director
Ministry of Finance
250 356-2821