February 11, 2022 - CSSEA and CSSBA Commence Sectoral Bargaining

On February 2, 2022, CSSEA commenced bargaining with the Community Social Services Bargaining Association (CSSBA) to amend the sector’s three collective agreements, which are set to expire on March 31, 2022. Negotiations are being held in Burnaby in a hybrid format, with CSSEA Bargaining Team members participating both virtually and in person, in order to facilitate safe distancing.

The first two weeks of discussions, while constructive and collaborative, consisted mostly of developing housekeeping frameworks. The parties exchanged opening statements and agreed to a bargaining protocol, as well as the adoption of an interest-based bargaining approach. Both CSSEA and the CSSBA tabled housekeeping proposals and ended this week with a number of agreements on housekeeping-related language.

Working Within Government’s Shared Recovery Mandate

Over the past year, CSSEA has consulted with members to obtain their key bargaining objectives and service delivery priorities in order to inform the creation of its 2022 Bargaining Plan. Led by a Bargaining Team that includes members from all three membership divisions, CSSEA will be working to achieve sustainable and collaborative agreements that incorporate sectoral objectives with the provincial government’s Shared Recovery Mandate. The mandate supports the provincial government’s three key priorities for public sector negotiations: 

• Protecting the services people depend on
• Improving health care and preparing for future challenges
• Supporting a strong, inclusive economic recovery that includes everyone

CSSEA to Confirm Primary Bargaining Contact

In an effort to keep members informed on updates at the bargaining table, as well as prepare for the eventual ratification vote when negotiations conclude, CSSEA will be contacting you by e-mail in the coming weeks to ensure we have your most current primary bargaining contact on file. It is important for you to verify or make changes to our records by responding to that e-mail, as future ratification details and Bargaining Updates will only be sent to primary contacts.

Bargaining Team Acknowledgement

CSSEA thanks all members of the Bargaining Team for volunteering their time to represent the sector in this round negotiations:

Indigenous Services

Melanie Hudson, Island Metis Family and Community Services
Adam Calvert, Metis Family Services

General Services

Ann Kutcher, Westcoast Family Centre Society
Sanjeev Nand, Langley Community Services Society
Judy Valsonis, Touchstone Family Association

Community Living Services

Fernando Coelho, posAbilities Association of British Columbia
Tammy Khanna, Independent Living Housing Society of Greater Victoria
Tanya Sather, Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion (BACI)
Anita Sihota - Delta Community Living (alternate)
Dawn Hein - Mission Association for Community Living (alternate)

CSSEA

Gentil Mateus (CEO), Eric Peraro (Research and Knowledge Management), Vangie Johnson (administration)
Mark Slobin (lead negotiator), Tamina Mawji, Courtney McLachlan (alternate negotiators)

HRLR Response Times

While CSSEA remains in bargaining, we remind you our HRLR team is managing much higher than normal workloads and ask for your continued patience as we prioritize a high volume of inquiries. Response times to inquiries will continue to be significantly delayed over the next few months and we ask that you access our website for HRLR resources that will answer most commonly asked questions. 

Should you have any questions, please contact your HRLR Consultant/Advocate.