Member Action Required for Essential Services Planning

CSSEA and CSSBA have agreed to prepare for essential services staffing levels in the event of strike action by the unions. On May 31, 2022, the CSSBA under Section 72(1) of the Labour Relations Code applied for the designation of essential services. On June 1, 2022, the Minister of Labour directed the Labour Relations Board to designate the facilities, productions and services it considers necessary or essential to prevent immediate and serious danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the residents of British Columbia. The Labour Relations Board has the ultimate responsibility for determining staffing levels during a work stoppage.

The last Essential Services Orders were issued by the Labour Relations Board in 2012. As such, employers and unions must review and update their 2012 Orders (where they exist) in order to determine the current required levels of essential services.

For more information about essential services, please read this backgrounder.

Members Who Do Not Have Essential Services

If your agency does not operate any essential services programs and you believe that your operations can be completely closed during a work stoppage because they are not “essential to prevent immediate and serious danger to the health, safety or welfare of the residents of British Columbia”, CSSEA will need you to identify your agency as not needing to designate essential services levels.

Please send the following email to Vangie Johnson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. : “<LEGAL NAME OF AGENCY> does not have any essential services as defined in the Global Order.” Please send this email by no later than July 8.

Members Who Have Essential Services

If your agency operates any essential services programs, please complete the following forms:

Form A - Employer Background Information
Form B - Bargaining Unit Staffing
Form B-2 - Supported Living - Client Visit Report 
Form C - Management and Excluded Areas of Work 
Form D - Volunteers
Form E - Signature Log
Forms A to E can be found: HERE
Instructions for Forms A to E can be found: HERE

Members must complete Forms A to D, and submit them to both their shop stewards and union representative(s) by no later than July 8 to initiate discussions over essential services staffing levels. Establishing justifiable staffing levels based on the clients’ requirements and how management would be deployed to perform bargaining unit work will assist in negotiating and reaching expedited agreements with the union(s). Forms A to D require union agreement and if agreement is not reached, determination by the Labour Relations Board is necessary.

Please use the following contact list for the union representatives who must receive your completed Forms A to D (if two contacts are listed please send your forms to both), and to commence the negotiations process:

Remember: If two contacts are listed employers are to send their forms to both contacts.

Local negotiations should be scheduled, as soon as possible after sending the completed Forms A to D, between management representatives and union representatives (union representative listed above and if applicable, your steward(s)). Negotiations that occur locally with shop stewards present will be most effective because of the local parties’ firsthand knowledge of the operations, the availability of alternate resources in the community and the requirements of the clients. CSSEA staff will not be directly participating in your local negotiations but will be available to help members with their essential services planning.

Members must advise Vangie Johnson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if agreement is not reached by no later than July 29. Members must provide detailed information outlining the precise areas still in dispute. The information should include Forms A to D, notes from the local negotiations, and, if applicable, care plans. CSSEA staff will then participate in discussions with the unions to determine if there are ways to resolve the outstanding issues. If CSSEA and the unions cannot resolve the remaining issues, the dispute is referred to the Labour Relations Board for mediation and/or adjudication.

Members must also send all agreed forms (Forms A to E) to Vangie Johnson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by no later than July 29.

Please note that late submissions of all agreed forms (Forms A to E) and outstanding matters will not be accepted, and that the Labour Relations Board may issue Orders based on the information they may have.

All agreements reached and Labour Relations Board determinations are codified in Essential Services Orders issued by the Labour Relations Board.

We urge you to make the essential services negotiations a top priority. To access all forms online, log into CSSEA’s Members site and click on Bargaining/2022 Essential Services Resources. Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this matter.

If you have any questions about the process, please contact your CSSEA Advocate/Consultant.