A tentative agreement has been reached between the multi-union Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA) and B.C.’s health employers covering more than 46,000 health care workers (including Hospital Employees’ Union members - HEU) who work in publicly funded hospitals, long-term care facilities, emergency health services, health authority corporate offices and warehouses, and in other settings across the province.
The two-year proposed settlement comes after nine months of difficult negotiations in the facilities sub-sector and includes:
- A moratorium on layoffs due to contracting out for the life of the agreement
- The continuation of benefits
- Across-the-board wage increases totaling three per cent over the life of the agreement
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The continuation, as appendices, of the two existing contracts covering members of CUPE Local 873 and the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU) working for the provincial ambulance service.
The FBA unions are recommending the tentative agreement to members.
FBA spokesperson Bonnie Pearson, who is also the HEU secretary-business manager, says that the tentative agreement meets the many needs of a very diverse bargaining unit.
“The FBA unions have worked hard to ensure that this tentative settlement honours our members’ priorities in a large and diverse bargaining unit, and that it meets their needs.”
Pearson adds that the HEU Provincial Executive is also recommending the agreement to its membership.
The unions will be conducting detailed information and ratification meetings over the next few weeks according to their own processes.
The FBA unions include HEU which represents 70 per cent of the workers covered by the agreement, BCGEU, the B.C. Nurses’ Union, CUPE Local 873, the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 882/882H and six other unions.