B.C. is extending better union benefits to many long-term care home workers, compensating for changes made by the B.C. Liberal government more than two decades ago.
“This is a major step forward,” Health Minister Josie Osborne said. “It strengthens consistent labour standards across the long-term care and assisted living sector, supports a stable and sustainable workforce, and it helps reduce turnover.”
More than 5,000 workers in approximately 100 privately operated, publicly funded long-term care facilities will be moved under the authority of the Health Employers’ Association of B.C., and therefore be covered by the Facilities Bargaining Agreement, according to the deal, announced on Monday, Dec. 1.
For most, this means better benefits and pension coverage, in addition to increased wages.
The switch will cost the province $72 million for the first two years (Osborne had initially said $85 million; the ministry later clarified the figure). The deal is still subject to ratification by members of the Facilities Bargaining Association and the Health Employers’ Association of B.C.
“Today’s announcement marks a major step forward in repairing and rebuilding the seniors’ care system that has been deeply fractured by two decades of privatization,” said Lynn Bueckert, secretary-treasurer for the Hospital Employees’ Union (HEU), which represents most of the workers in the bargaining association.
To go along with the announcement, the HEU released a timeline of events dating back to 2001, when the union says “virtually all” unionized staff in provincially funded hospitals and care homes were working under one master collective agreement.
Then, starting in 2002, the B.C. Liberals began taking this apart through measures that allowed subcontracting of work, and eventually led some care home owners to fire their entire staff, then rehire whomever they wanted at lower wages.
Bueckert spoke at the announcement after Osborne, introducing a care aide named Edil Bukid, who told her story of being caught up in these changes in 2004. Everyone at the facility where she worked was fired after the site was contracted out. She was rehired, but her sister, who worked at the same home, was not.
Bukid’s pay dropped from $23 to $15 per hour. She lost benefits and her pension.
“Then, in 2007, it happened again,” she said. “The contract went to another company, and once more, I had to reapply.”
In the ensuing years, wages and benefits began to diverge across the long-term care sector. Some workers were paid well, with good benefits, while others struggled.
During the pandemic, the government decided to top up wages in long-term care centres to ensure workers stayed, and that low-paying centres didn’t suddenly shut down. Still, benefit and pension disparities remained.
Workers will switch to the Facilities Bargaining Association in two phases, to be completed by Sept. 30, 2028. Only care homes with more than 50 per cent provincially-funded beds will make the switch.
For those making the transition, wage-levelling top-ups are being extended at least until March 31, 2027. Private care homes not moved under the Facilities Bargaining Association will continue to receive wage top-ups, subject to a 90-day notice of termination.