The Community Social Services Employers’ Association (CSSEA) and members of the Community Social Services Bargaining Association (CSSBA) have ratified three agreements under the Shared Recovery Mandate.

CSSEA represents nearly 200 member agencies categorized into three sub-sectors: community living services, general services and Indigenous services, each with their own collective agreement. These three agreements cover approximately 20,000 unionized employees working at private, group and residential community living homes; supported employment programs; child development centres; adult day programs; mental-health centres; immigrant settlement programs; counselling for victims of violence; and crisis intervention programs in communities throughout B.C.

The CSSBA is composed of 10 unions, with the largest proportion of members represented by the BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) followed by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

Key priorities of the 2022 mandate include:

• protecting the services that people in British Columbia depend on;
• improving health care and preparing for future needs and challenges; and
• supporting a strong economic recovery that includes everyone in B.C.

These negotiations are focused on providing a fair and reasonable offer to public-sector workers that includes significant inflation protection, while ensuring that government has the resources to continue to invest in building a stronger province for everyone.

The ratified agreement includes:

• a three-year term: April 1, 2022, until March 31, 2025
• general wage increases:
  • Year 1: a flat increase of $0.25 per hour, which provides a greater percentage increase for lower paid employees, plus 3.24%
  • Year 2: 5.5%, plus a potential cost of living adjustment to a maximum of 6.75%
  • Year 3: 2%, plus a potential cost of living adjustment to a maximum of 3%
• a negotiable flexibility allocation for as much as 0.25% in years 1 and 2 to support mutually beneficial outcomes for both parties

Other achievements in this round of negotiations include the levelling up of CSSBA top wage rates with similar positions in the health sector, 100% paid sick leave and adjustment to employee sick banks, and wage parity for all classifications covered by the Indigenous Services Collective Agreement with the BCGEU main public service collective agreement.

Currently, approximately 295,000 provincial public-sector employees are covered by tentative or ratified agreements reached under B.C.’s Shared Recovery Mandate.

Learn More:

Learn about public sector bargaining in B.C.: https://gov.bc.ca/psecbargaining