The British Columbia Public School Employers' Association (BCPSEA) board of directors has ratified two-year collective agreements for support staff in another nine school districts under the government's 2010 net-zero mandate, bringing the total up to 40 agreements covering about 18,300 employees.

The negotiated agreements were reached through collaborative discussions between the BCPSEA, the accredited bargaining agent for the province's 60 public boards of education and union bargaining teams representing K-to-12 support staff in December 2011. The collective agreements were ratified at the local level and will continue to be announced as they receive final ratification by the BCPSEA board over the next few weeks.

The nine most recent settlements under the provincial Framework Agreement cover approximately 4,700 employees working in school districts in British Columbia:

• 33 (Chilliwack) Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
• 36 (Surrey) and CUPE.
• 42 (Maple Ridge - Pitt Meadows) and CUPE.
• 52 (Prince Rupert) and the International Union of Operating Engineers.
• 58 (Nicola and Similkameen) and CUPE.
• 69 (Qualicum) and CUPE.
• 71 (Comox Valley) and CUPE.
• 75 (Mission) and CUPE.
• 85 (Vancouver Island North) and CUPE.

Although outstanding agreements are still being negotiated with unions under the 2010 mandate, virtually all of B.C.'s public-sector collective agreements covered by the 2010 mandate are now settled for two years of net-zero.

Agreements expiring in 2012 will be negotiated under the Cooperative Gains Mandate. Government has been clear that there is no new money to fund wage increases and it will not download those costs onto families or future generations. The new mandate gives public-sector employers the ability to look for operational savings that may be applied to modest wage increases as long as services are maintained and costs are held to existing budgets.

There are approximately 300,000 unionized workers employed in the public service, at Crown corporations and agencies, and in the K-12, post-secondary, health and community social services sectors. An increase of one per cent in total compensation for all unionized public-sector employees would cost the Province approximately $196 million each year. If applied to non-union and management groups, the cost increases to about $237 million annually.

Learn More:

Updated bargaining information is available at: http://www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/psec/

Media Contacts:

Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Finance
250 356-9872

Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Education
250 356-5963