Late last year, the B.C. government signed an agreement with the Hospital Employees’ Union (HEU) that will see more than 5,000 unionized long-term care and assisted living workers transition to the public-sector by 2028.
This historic long-term care agreement was negotiated by the Facilities Bargaining Association during 10 months of intense negotiations. With the ratification of the new Facilities collective agreement late last year, work is now underway to plan the transition.
The first step is working with government to identify all worksites that will be brought into the public system. As the agreement outlines, unionized operators of care homes that receive a threshold level of provincial funding – and that directly employ workers – will be designated as members of HEABC and will become subject to the Facilities and other public-sector health care collective agreements.
Once the eligible sites are confirmed, the transition into HEABC collective agreements will take place in two phases over two years, between October 2026 and September 2028.
This commitment by the B.C. government is an important step toward restoring a level playing field for working conditions and quality of care in provincially funded seniors’ care homes. However, while this is a significant accomplishment, not all members working in private seniors’ care are covered by this agreement.
That’s why HEU is continuing to push for changes to ensure every member in seniors’ care has the wages, benefits, and pensions they deserve. As part of the work ahead, we are renewing and expanding Care Can’t Wait – the union’s long-term advocacy campaign that was key to securing this latest breakthrough in long-term care.
With fair working and caring conditions in place in every facility across B.C., seniors and others who require long-term care and assisted living will have better care. Our union won’t stop until the job is done.