After a gruelling strike, B.C.’s two main public service unions either have a tentative deal in place or are close to one.
“This was an epic strike for our members, who made great sacrifices on the picket lines for eight weeks,” said Professional Employees’ Association (PEA) President Melissa Moroz.
Now, Moroz and other union leaders must sell the deals to their members.
The tentative agreement with the B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) includes a three-per-cent raise each year for four years, plus other non-wage components.
The PEA still has some bargaining to do, but has secured the same wage offer given to the BCGEU and now needs to work out its non-wage components.
Some of those will be the same for both unions, some will not.
Moroz said the PEA is still trying to come to terms on specifics, such as the system for civil lawyers to get raises, and pay for workers during emergencies.
How the deal got done
The BCGEU represents approximately 34,000 workers in the public service, while the PEA has around 1,800 members.
By the end of the escalating eight-week strike, 25,000 BCGEU workers and all PEA members were on the picket lines.
An eventual deal was only reached after eight days of mediation, with well-known labour negotiator Vince Ready and arbitrator Amanda Rodgers bridging the gap.
When mediation began on Oct. 17, the government was offering a four-per-cent raise over two years, while the union wanted eight. The government had also sweetened the deal with an extra raise for low-wage workers.
BCGEU President Paul Finch credits the strike for forcing the deal.
“We believe we got the deal through the courage and determination of our members who walked picket lines for eight weeks,” BCGEU President Paul Finch said on Monday (Oct. 27).
Finch wouldn’t provide too many details about what happened at the table with the mediators, but did say it was a “mutual decision” to expand the term to four years. This deal is backdated to the end of the last one, which expired on March 31.
A two-year deal would force the two sides to return to negotiations in about a year and a half. Finch said his members have an “appetite” for a longer deal.
“We thought that that was a prudent choice to have a bit of a longer deal,” he said.
There is some concern for the union that inflation could exceed the pay raise at some point within the deal, but Finch said that because the agreement is backdated, he thinks there is enough certainty in the short term to move ahead.
Finch also pointed to some other concessions made by the government included in the deal, such as the agreement to get rid of job evaluation plans, which the union has long opposed.
The deal also provides “improved fairness” for telework to reflect modern workplace “realities,” a faster grievance process and improved vision care and counselling benefits.
And there is a memorandum of agreement to provide job protection for workers with at least three years of seniority.
The PEA only began its negotiations once the BCGEU secured its deal and was offered the same wage increase. The PEA was able to secure a stronger commitment on job protection for its workers, who are professionals working jobs ranging from foresters to psychologists.
Moroz said the PEA deal says that if a worker has regular full-time status in the union as of a certain date, they won’t be laid off during the term of the collective agreement.
“It serves the workers, the union, and the people of British Columbia who rely on the services to have that kind of labour peace for four years,” she said.
Moroz did caution that while the BCGEU has a tentative deal in place, the PEA is still at the bargaining table and those negotiations could still break down.
B.C. Premier David Eby would not comment in detail on the BCGEU deal, saying only that it was a “lengthy and arduous” negotiation.
“I’m very glad that we’ve reached a tentative agreement,” Eby said. “I understand that the members will be voting on that soon, and out of respect for the vote that members will be undertaking, I keep my comments to expressing gratitude for the work around the table to reach this tentative deal.”
B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad also said he is glad to see an agreement and hopes it is ratified by members, but argued the province needs to address its finances to be able to pay workers well by focusing on long-term economic growth.
“We need to see wages go up in this province, there’s no question,” he said. “However, we have a problem: Our economy is in the tank.”
Finch said BCGEU will put the deal to members within weeks, and he expects a result by mid-November.
Many other public sector unions are still negotiating agreements, including the nurses’ union, the teachers’ federation and unions representing hospital workers. While those unions have unique issues and various needs, they will likely see this agreement as a baseline for the worker raises.