Three Year Collective Agreements Ratified

CSSEA is pleased that employers have followed the recommendation of the Bargaining Committee and voted overwhelmingly in favour of ratifying new three-year collective agreements in the Community Living Services, General Services and Indigenous Services divisions. The unions that comprise the Community Social Services Bargaining Association have also voted in favour of ratification. The term of the agreements will be from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2022, but the parties have agreed that all language provisions will take effect immediately, as of August 27, 2018.

Highlights of the new agreements include a general wage increase of 2% on April 1 of each of the three years and an additional $60 million over three years as part of the continuation of the 2014 low wage redress strategy that addresses wage comparability with the health sector.

These historic agreements show that when employers and unions collaborate to create a level playing field in public sector compensation, improved service delivery to some of the most vulnerable British Columbians can be achieved. These agreements also represent an unprecedented success in supporting members with their recruitment and retention challenges.

Another notable aspect of the new agreements will be the creation of the first provincial Health and Safety Council for the social services sector. The Council will build on the achievements of the CSS WorkSafeBC Pilot Project, a partnership between the Federation of Community Social Services of BC, CSSEA and WorkSafeBC that focuses on reducing work-related injuries and promoting healthy and safe workplaces.

Voting Results

In total, 75 per cent of employers participated in the vote and the breakdown of those who voted in favour, by division, is as follows:
Indigenous Services: 80 per cent
Community Living Services: 98 per cent
General Services: 99 per cent

Next steps

As CSSEA works towards implementing the new terms of the collective agreements, including allocation of the low wage redress, we ask those who are interested in participating on the 2019-2022 Joint Committees to contact Kandyce Yamamoto at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . For further details on the new agreements, please see the Summary of Changes.