Five collective agreements with faculty and instructors have received final ratification by the Post-Secondary Employers' Association (PSEA) board under government's 2010 net-zero mandate, Finance Minister Kevin Falcon announced.

The agreements ratified by the PSEA board cover:

* Douglas College and the Douglas College Faculty Association.

* North Island College and the North Island College Faculty Association.

* Okanagan College and the BCGEU Local 707 Vocational Instructors.

* Selkirk College and the BCGEU Local 709 Vocational Instructors.

* Selkirk College and the Selkirk College Faculty Association.

The five settlements cover approximately 1,800 faculty and vocational instructors working at four public post-secondary institutions throughout the province. Following local ratification by the parties, the PSEA board ratifies each two-year agreement, which contains items that were agreed to at the PSEA common table in December 2011.

Collective agreements that expired in 2010 and 2011 continue to be reached under the 2010 net-zero mandate, even as a number of public sector employers and unions in the public service, health and community social service sectors have begun negotiations under the 2012 Cooperative Gains Mandate.

Quotes:

Minister of Finance Kevin Falcon -

"These agreements are among the last to be negotiated under the 2010 net-zero mandate, as almost three-quarters of the collective agreements have been successfully renegotiated."

"We have been clear that there is no new money to fund wage increases and no desire to download these costs onto families or future generations. Under the 2012 Cooperative Gains Mandate, public sector employers have the flexibility to negotiate modest compensation increases if they can find equivalent savings within their existing budgets."

Minister of Advanced Education Naomi Yamamoto -

"I'm pleased to hear that these agreements are in place for the benefit of the faculty, the instructors and the students they teach."

Quick Facts:

* There are about 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.

* Public sector wages account for more than half of total government spending.

* 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, this increases to about $237 million annually.

Learn More:

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

Media Contacts:

Government Communications and Public Engagement

Ministry of Finance

250 356-2821

Joanne Whittier

Communications Manager

Ministry of Advanced Education

250 952-6400

Connect with the Province of B.C. at: www.gov.bc.ca/connect