A new collective agreement between the multi-union Community Social Services Bargaining Association (CSSBA) and Community Social Services Employers’ Association (CSSEA) has been ratified.
Members of the nine unions voted by more than 93.7 per cent to accept the agreement, with the result announced today, May 22.
This agreement makes important progress for CSSBA members to reach wage parity with their Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA) counterparts through a combination of a three per cent general wage increase for a total of 12 per cent over the four-year term, targeted low-wage redress, and anticipated shift premiums.
This is a strong result and a major win for community social services workers across B.C.
CSSEA employers ratified the agreement on May 21.
The four-year agreement is retroactive to the first pay period after April 1, 2025. This means members will receive general wage increase back pay from that date.
The employer controls when retroactive pay will be issued but the unions will advocate for it to be paid out as quickly as possible.
The CSSBA wage calculator can show you, based on your job and step, what your increase will be over the term of the agreement.
The final collective agreement document will need to be reviewed and finalized before being uploaded to the HEU website, but full details of the agreement can be found in the CSSBA Comprehensive Report.
HEU leadership will now begin working with the eight other constituent unions of the CSSBA to implement the new provisions.
The Community Social Services Bargaining Association includes BCGEU (the lead), CUPE, HEU (1,500 members), LiUNA, HSA, CLAC, USW, UFCW, and BCNU, covering 23,000 health care workers across the province.