The Professional Association of Residents of B.C. and the Health Employers’ Association of B.C. have reached a five-year tentative agreement under the new Economic Stability Mandate, Finance Minister Michael de Jong announced today.

This five-year tentative agreement covers approximately 1,200 medical residents who are employed at B.C.’s five health authorities, the B.C. Cancer Agency, B.C. Children’s Hospital, B.C. Women’s Hospital and Health Centre, and the Providence Health Care Society.

The government’s Economic Stability Mandate provides public-sector employers with 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. Settlements are expected to be unique between sectors and reflect government’s priorities of having labour stability, affordable service delivery and a balanced budget.

Currently, there are over 150,000 public-sector employees covered by tentative or ratified agreements negotiated under the Economic Stability mandate. This represents almost half of all unionized employees in B.C.

Details of the agreement will be available once the ratification process is complete.

Quotes:

Minister of Finance Michael de Jong -

“We continue to see agreements reached at the bargaining table that provide compensation increases that are fair for the hard-working men and women in the public sector and for the taxpayers of British Columbia.”

“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.”

Minister of Health Terry Lake -

“Our government is committed to educating and training more doctors in B.C. This tentative agreement continues to build on our investments in this area and will help ensure that we have a supply of well-trained doctors in the future.”

Quick Facts:

• The new 2014 Economic Stability Mandate applies to all public-sector employers whose collective agreements expired on or after Dec. 31, 2013.
• If the province’s real GDP growth exceeds forecasts over the terms 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 budget.
• For example, if 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 post-secondary sector.

Learn More:

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

Media Contacts:

Media Relations
Ministry of Finance
250 387-3514

Kristy Anderson
Media Relations Manager
Ministry of Health
250 952-1887 (media line)