CEO Update - January/February 2022

COVID-19

As 2022 continues to see health professionals and governments grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, CSSEA is still actively monitoring developments as they relate to employer responsibilities in the social services sector. At our most recent Board Meeting in December, CSSEA’s Board encouraged the sector to follow Provincial Health Officer (PHO) guidelines and obtain vaccinations, including booster shots.

In addition, employers are reminded that as of January 7, 2022, the PHO has reinstated site-specific, prescriptive COVID-19 safety plans, replacing the general Communicable Disease Prevention plans that were in place prior to that. COVID-19 Safety Plans are formal, written plans that include details such as occupancy limits, physical distancing and barriers. Employers are encouraged to revisit their COVID-19 Safety Plans with input from employees to ensure they remain effective at reducing exposure. For more information and resources, consult this CSSEA Info. A copy of a more recent PHO order on workplace safety can be found here.

2022 Bargaining

CSSEA and the Community Social Services Bargaining Association (CSSBA) have agreed to commence bargaining on February 2 to amend the sector’s three collective agreements. We will notify the membership of developments through periodic Bargaining Updates that will be e-mailed to your agency’s bargaining contact. In preparation, CSSEA will be sending an email to the bargaining contact on file to confirm that e-mail is still current. We ask that you look out for that communication in the coming weeks and take a moment to respond so CSSEA can be in contact throughout the bargaining and ratification process.

HRLR Staffing and Workloads

With the imminent commencement of bargaining, along with COVID-19-related inquiries, local issues bargaining and ongoing departmental recruiting, CSSEA’s HRLR team continues to experience a much heavier than normal workload. We ask for your patience in the coming months as we manage competing time-sensitive priorities. Response times to inquiries will likely be significantly delayed over the next few months and we ask that you access our website for HRLR resources that will answer many common questions.

2022-23 Non-Collective Agreement Cost Increases

A number of non-collective agreement cost increases are slated to come into effect this year, including increases to the Canadian Pension Plan, Employment Insurance, WorkSafeBC rates, health and welfare benefits, and the like. To illustrate the impact of these cost increases to members, CSSEA created a document with breakdowns by statutory benefit and specific health and welfare benefit, and shared it with sectoral funders. Members can view a copy of that report here.

Register Now for Online Learning Hub’s First Cohort

This past December, CSSEA introduced an online leadership learning platform that will offer web-based sessions covering a range of HRLR topics. A unique feature of this platform is the option to participate in cohort-based learning, meaning registrants would join a cohort of students in a 12-month guided learning process that will include interaction, discussions and a monthly group coaching call. We are now in the final days of accepting registrations for the first cohort. Registrations will be accepted until January 31, after which interested participants will have to wait until April to join the second cohort. You are invited to browse the current list of session topics and register for your spot at: https://cssea.myleadershiphub.com/

2022 Awards of Excellence

As CSSEA gears up to launch the opening of nominations for our seventh annual Community Social Services Awards of Excellence, sponsored by TELUS, I encourage all members to consider nominating a deserving individual. With the unprecedented challenges that the sector has faced in the last two years, recognition through these awards would be a wonderful way to build organization-wide pride and morale. In addition, those who have submitted nominations in previous years (and whose nominee was not selected to receive an award) are welcome to re-submit nominations. Awards nominations will open in March.