Five BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) faculty agreements reached at the common table under the Province’s Shared Recovery Mandate have been ratified by the board of the Post-Secondary Employers’ Association (PSEA).

These agreements cover nearly 950 BCGEU faculty members, most of whom teach vocational programs. The PSEA and the BCGEU tentatively settled the common agreement last year, which includes the main compensation items as well as other provisions. The common agreement combines with the local agreements that were independently negotiated at each institution as part of this sector’s two-tiered approach to bargaining, and then ratified by all parties.

Parties to the BCGEU vocational faculty common table include the following five locals at these institutions:

• Camosun College and BCGEU Local 701
• Coast Mountain College and Local 712
• Northern Lights College and BCGEU Local 710
• Okanagan College and BCGEU Local 707
• Selkirk College and BCGEU Local 709

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 agreements include:

• a three-year term from July 1, 2022, until June 30, 2025;
• general wage increases:
  • Year 1 – a flat increase to annual salaries of $455, 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% (maximum 6.75% triggered as of March 21, 2023); and
  • Year 3 – 2%, plus a potential cost-of-living adjustment to a maximum of 3%.
• a negotiable flexibility allocation of up to 0.25% in years 1 and 2 to support mutually beneficial outcomes for both parties; and other achievements specific to each table.

Nearly 390,000 or 96% of provincial public-sector employees are covered by tentative or ratified agreements reached under B.C.’s Shared Recovery Mandate.

Learn More:

To learn about public-sector bargaining in B.C., visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/employment-business/employers/public-sector-employers/public-sector-bargaining