Our History

In 1992, the Commission of Inquiry into the Public Service and the Public Sector embarked on a review of human resource practices in British Columbia. Spearheaded by Commissioner Judi Korbin, the inquiry examined practices in the health, education, public service, colleges and universities, crown corporations and community social services sectors.

Government approved Korbin's recommendations and adopted the Public Sector Employers Act (Bill 78), which legislated the formation of the Public Sector Employers' Council Secretariat (PSEC) and a number of employers' associations in the public sector, including the Community Social Services Employers' Association of BC (CSSEA). PSEC's role would be to streamline human resource services with a focus on accountability, coordination, effective management and the balancing of union/management and employer/employee relations.

CSSEA was established on January 13,1994 and was mandated to serve four key functions in the social services sector:

• To act as the bargaining agent for its members accreditated under the Labour Relations Code or Section 11 of the Public Sector Employers Act
• To co-ordinate compensation services for member employees who are not subject to collective agreements, as well as benefit administration and human resources practices.
• To encourage collaboration and consultation with employers in the community social services sector.
• To work in conjunction with PSEC to achieve the objectives and strategic directions determined by the Council.

In October 2002, CSSEA was placed under the guidance of a public administrator whose recommendations were approved by government in March 2003. These recommendations included decreasing the number of members, a new governance model, a new structure for collective bargaining, an alignment of CSSEA’s operations to reflect the major changes occurring within the social services sector and an increase in CSSEA’s commonality with other employers’ associations in the public sector. The work of Peter Cameron in the role of the public administrator led to the introduction of the Community Services Labour Relations Act in 2003.