CEO Update - July 2022

2022 Bargaining

This round of bargaining has been different from previous rounds as it has required a higher level of patience and endurance from our bargaining committee. Over the last six months, we have worked through a number of employer and union language and interpretive issues as we attempt to modernize the collective agreements. I am cautiously optimistic we will conclude the negotiations without service disruptions but nevertheless, we need the membership to complete their essential services plans as it is a Labour Relations Board requirement that we be ready in the event job action occurs. We have more bargaining dates scheduled in August and September in an effort to continue to make progress at the table. The parties continue to work civilly and respectfully on all topics placed on the table on which we have an ability to influence, within the framework of the most recent provincial financial mandate.

On another matter, CSSEA provided the provincial government with feedback on the challenges members are facing with implementing the new Employment Standards Act minimum sick leave provisions for employees covered by our collective agreements. In particular, we conveyed the payroll challenges and additional administrative resources needed to calculate an “average day’s” pay for sick leave and suggested changes to better align with collective agreement processes. The government considered our feedback but at this time, is not looking to make any changes to the Act.

2022 Compensation and Employee Turnover Report

The 2022 Compensation and Employee Turnover Report is now due. It is critical that CSSEA receives your report, as the information collected arms CSSEA with quantitative data that it can present to government on the macro sectoral issues of funding, collective bargaining and compensation. If you have already completed the report, we thank you for your participation. If you have not yet completed the report, please contact us by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Social Services Compensation Standard Project

Flowing from the work conducted by the Social Services Roundtable, the PSEC Secretariat is leading the Social Services Sector Compensation Standard (SSSCS) Project, which aims to develop a compensation funding plan to set clear, consistent and appropriate compensation standards for non-union employees, managers, and executives across both unionized and non-union agencies in the social services sector.

CSSEA was selected by PSEC Secretariat to lead the project of undertaking detailed work associated with the creation of benchmark management job profiles and a management salary band hierarchy for our sector which, unlike other public sectors, does not have a Management Excluded Compensation Plan. A separate initiative under this project will include a high-level analysis of non-union (bargaining unit equivalent) compensation versus their equivalent unionized jobs to determine the cost and make recommendations on how government could close the wage and benefit gap and ensure the sector is competitive in the job market. This will involve engaging and working directly with a representative sample of social services agencies to gather information on management jobs, organizational structures, compensation and benefits. In addition, it will enable the development of a funding framework in the future, which will avoid the funding conditions that gave rise to the current wage compression and inversion issues that affect many excluded positions. All agency information will be anonymous and data will be captured only on an aggregate basis for those participating agencies that will receive a ‘participants’ report at the conclusion of the project in 2023.

Community Social Services Health and Safety Association Updates

The new Association recently held its first meeting in early June and as Interim Chair, I facilitated the appointment of Board positions. I am pleased to announce that Tammy Khanna from Independent Living Housing Society of Greater Victoria will be serving as Secretary and Nina Hansen from Health Sciences Association of BC will be serving as Treasurer. The Association is still in the process of interviewing for the Chair position and will announce the successful candidate once it has been determined.

Members can expect to receive notification in the coming weeks about two complimentary webinars set to take place in late August, on August 22 and 24. The webinars will cover community social services disability management and return to work, as well as psychological health and safety resources. Members will receive more details, including links to register, as soon as they become available.

In addition to the upcoming webinars, the Association will be holding in-person sessions in September and October, where Association Director Satvinder Basran will present on a number of key topics, including WorkSafeBC Injury Statistic, Violence Risk Assessment Tool, and general best practices and resources. We hope to have WorkSafeBC Prevention Officers and Industry Specialists on hand at the sessions as well. These presentations are currently being planned for Prince George, Terrace, Cranbrook, Victoria, Nanaimo, Kelowna and Vancouver, and registration details will be released later this summer. For any questions please contact the Satvinder Basran, Council Director, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Registration Now Open for 2022 CSSEA AGM and Conference

After a two-year pause in holding large events, CSSEA is excited to once again be hosting an in-person conference this year. Together & Forward will be taking place in Vancouver at the Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel from October 25-27.

CSSEA will once again be opening the event with our 2022 Annual General Meeting, during which we will hold Divisional Sessions to select your 2022-24 panel representatives. For those who are interested in being involved with CSSEA’s governance by serving on their panel, I invite you to read about roles and responsibilities here. In addition, members who wish to propose a resolution at this year’s AGM may do so by September 29 by submitting it to Doris Sun, Director of Communications, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . For full program details, including a link to our online registration page, go to our conference website. I encourage you to register by August 15 to take advantage of our early bird rates and also, for a chance to win one of two free quarterly memberships to our online e-learning hub. The value of each of the two prizes is $225 and will allow conference attendees to complement and continue their professional development through web-based leadership and labour relations modules.

2022 CSSEA Annual Report – Send Us Your Photos

As CSSEA prepares to publish its 2022 Annual Report, we are once again inviting members to send photos from their agencies to be considered for inclusion. We welcome member photos of staff events, community events in which your agency had a presence, individuals served, or any other image that highlights the work your organization is doing in your community. We ask that anyone featured in your submitted photos consent to their image being published in print and on our website prior to your submission. The deadline for submission is August 5, 2022 and photos can be e-mailed to Doris Sun, Director of Communications, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

HRLR Staffing Updates

Maintaining a full HRLR team has been difficult and after extensive recruiting to fill existing vacancies, we are pleased to welcome two new Advocates. Kathryn Rogers recently joined CSSEA after roles as an Industrial Relations Officer/Investigator at the Employment Standards Branch. Before that, she held a number of legal and consultant positions in forensic accounting, online legal resources, economic crime, and mental health organizations. She received her law degree in London, United Kingdom and articled in Alberta in 2015. Kathryn’s new member clients have been notified of their new Advocate by mail.

Kristy Milland will be joining CSSEA in mid-September. She spent 6 years as the director of HR at the Toronto Railway Museum while studying for her MA at McMaster University in the Faculty of Labour Studies. She also obtained a law degree at the University of Toronto and was called to the bar this month. Kristy’s new member clients will be notified of their Advocate by mail in early September. Advocate Isabelle Busby recently departed CSSEA for a private sector opportunity.

While the new team members possess relevant credentials, there is a steep learning curve for everyone who joins social services and I ask members in advance to be patient with their new Advocates as they gain knowledge and experience of a complex and diverse sector.