The Province is announcing significant progress at one of the negotiations taking place under the 2025 Balanced Measures Mandate.

Discussions between the Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA), the Health Employers Association of B.C. (HEABC) and government have led to a framework agreement. The framework includes the key components that will form the basis of the tentative agreement between the parties. While bargaining toward a tentative agreement is ongoing, the FBA and HEABC are committed to reaching an agreement quickly.

The framework represents a major milestone in bargaining, as the parties have reached agreement on all of the compensation increases that will be provided to FBA employees in the new collective agreement, including additional wage comparability increases linked to low-wage redress that will be over and above the general provincial public-sector bargaining mandate.

The enhanced wage comparability mandate for the FBA is in response to the ongoing impacts its members continue to face as a result of the unilateral 15% wage cuts imposed on them by a former government in 2004.

“With the Province facing unprecedented fiscal pressure and global economic uncertainty, the parties have agreed to spread out the financial redress commitment beyond the term of this collective agreement,” said Brenda Bailey, Minister of Finance. “This benefits everyone in B.C. These workers are dedicated to making sure people and their families get the health care and support they need, and they deserve to be compensated appropriately.”

The FBA’s enhanced wage comparability mandate is consistent with the low-wage redress mandates provided in every round of bargaining since 2014 in both the community heath and community social-services sectors.

“The pay cut in 2004 was unjustified,” said Josie Osborne, Minister of Health. “Providing equitable treatment to the vital support workers in the health and social-services sectors helps ensure the best service delivery possible to people when they need it the most.”

Government has also committed to a concrete plan to provide greater consistency of care for seniors in long-term care and assisted living, including greater wage and benefit equity for unionized employees. Government committed in July 2024 to use some of the increased health-care funding from Ottawa for this purpose.

The terms outlined in the framework will only take effect once a tentative agreement between the FBA and HEABC is reached and ratified. The tentative agreement will also include all other items agreed to in bargaining. In recognition of the ongoing negotiations, government will not be disclosing further details at this time.

The FBA represents nine unions and about 67,500 workers, 95% of whom are members of the Hospital Employees’ Union and 4% of whom are represented by the B.C. General Employees’ Union. Care aide is the largest job classification in this bargaining unit, along with food service workers, cleaners, lab assistants and nursing unit assistants. 

Negotiations under the 2025 Balanced Measures Mandate support government’s key priorities to protect and strengthen critical services in B.C.’s public sector, to maintain labour stability in a complex round of bargaining and to support the Province’s efforts to find operational efficiencies that preserve front-line services.

There are more than 593,000 people working across the provincial public sector in the core BC Public Service, at Crown corporations, in health, community social services, kindergarten-to-Grade 12 public education and at post-secondary institutions and research universities. Of those people, approximately 452,000 are unionized employees paid under collective agreements or professionals paid through negotiated compensation agreements.