More than 3,000 support staff workers in six school districts are the first to ratify new five-year agreements under the B.C. government’s 2014 Economic Stability Mandate.

• SD 41 (Burnaby) - 1,328 support staff workers (CUPE Local 379)
• SD 71 (Comox Valley) - 588 support staff workers (CUPE local 439)
• SD 84 (Vancouver Island West) - 63 support staff workers (CUPE local 2769)
• SD 62 (Sooke) - 584 support staff workers (CUPE local 459)
• SD 47 (Powell River) - 160 support staff workers (CUPE local 476)
• SD 45 (West Vancouver) - 415 for both support staff workers and members of the West Vancouver municipal Employee Association. 

The term of the new agreement for each district is from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2019. It provides for a modest 5.5% wage increase over the five years of the term, with potential for additional increases if the B.C. economy exceeds the annual forecasts set by the Economic Forecast Council during the last four years of the agreement.

Within 30 days of ratification of a new collective agreement by a board of education, the local union and BCPSEA, the board will reimburse each employee for all scheduled hours that the employee and has not otherwise been paid during the BCTF strike.

These six districts are the first to have fully ratified agreements in place for support staff workers. The remaining districts are working to ratify agreements by November. 

The government’s Economic Stability Mandate provides public-sector employers the ability to negotiate longer-term agreements within a fixed fiscal envelope, and offers employees an opportunity to participate in the province’s economic growth through the Economic Stability Dividend. Settlements are expected to be unique and to reflect priorities negotiated to ensure labour stability and affordable service delivery throughout B.C.

Quotes:

Minister of Education, Peter Fassbender - 

“These six ratified agreements mean that more than 3,000 support staff are now covered by settlements and can begin to see some of the money they lost during the BCTF’s strike action. These agreements benefit all British Columbians as they ensure services will continue to be delivered effectively and at a cost that is affordable to government and taxpayers.”

Minister of Finance, Michael de Jong -

“We are making steady progress towards five years of labour stability as more agreements continue to be reached and ratified in multiple sectors. Almost half of all unionized public sector employees are now covered by ratified or tentative agreements negotiated under the Economic Stability Mandate.”

Quick Facts:

• Currently, there are over 150,000 public-sector employees covered by tentative or ratified agreements under the Economic Stability Mandate. This represents almost half of all unionized public-sector employees in B.C.
• If the province’s real GDP growth exceeds forecasts over the term of the agreement, the agreement provides for the sharing of some benefits of that growth with the public-sector employees who work on behalf of British Columbians and help make that growth possible.
• Under this proposal, employees would receive a conditional, incremental wage increase equal to half of any percentage-point gain in real GDP growth above the Economic Forecast Council’s forecast published in the February Budgets.
• For example, if actual real GDP growth is one percentage point above forecast real GDP growth, then a 0.5% wage increase would result, beyond whatever wage increase had been negotiated in the contract.
• There are ratified agreements in place between the BCGEU and the Public Service, with Community Health, Community Social Services and the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association, the Facilities Bargaining Association and tentative agreements with K-12 support staff represented largely by CUPE and with BCGEU at four colleges in the postsecondary sector.

Media Contacts:

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

Janet Stewart
Ministry of Finance
250 213-8065