Time-Sensitive Update for Supportive Housing Members

Further to the Information Bulletin issued on July 25, 2024, and at the initiative of the provincial government, the agreement that was reached on behalf of eligible CSSEA supportive housing members to pay a temporary market adjustment (TMA) to better achieve parity with the health sector has been revised with important details of note below. The amended Memorandum of Agreement can be found here. 

Due to a comparability adjustment that took place in the health sector under the community health collective agreement, wage rates were increased for jobs classified as Shelter Support Worker at Grid 33 and Support Worker II at Grid 34 in the community health sub-sector, and as a result certain community social services classifications fell behind. The impacted classifications are:

• Adult, Youth and/or Child Worker;
• Residential Child and Youth Worker;
• Special Services Worker;
• Victim Service Worker; and
• All unique Grid 11 positions that meet the definition outlined in #4 of the Memorandum of Agreement.

As such, members who are listed in the Memorandum of Agreement will have employees eligible for the TMAs if they work in these classifications in fully provincially-funded supportive housing programs.

Please note that this amended Memorandum of Agreement replaces the previous one distributed in July and contains larger TMAs to be paid to the same classifications of employees no later than the first full pay period in October 2024 (do not pay the TMAs that were effective in September as set out in the July Memorandum of Agreement). It also contains the payment of shift premiums to these employees effective the same date. Finally, it deletes Step 1 in the wage grid effective the first full pay period in December 2024 for these employees.

CSSEA is developing a Q&A document to assist members; it will be shared once panel members have provided input.

The amended MOA provides for the following:

The TMAs will top up the targeted Grid 11 classification rates to the following wage rates:

• $31.56 at Step 1
• $31.56 at Step 2
• $32.42 at Step 3
• $33.49 at Step 4

Due to these adjustments, the TMAs will now be effective as soon as practicable but no later than the first full pay period in October 2024.

The above TMAs are to be added to the employee’s base pay and all usual payroll deductions continue to be made on the aggregate amount. For each of the above classifications, employees will also receive a Temporary Shift Premium Market Adjustment that matches the premiums paid in Community Health (see the revised Memorandum of Agreement).

In addition, effective the first full pay period following December 1st 2024, the parties will adopt the three-step Wage Schedule structure of the Community Health Subsector Collective Agreement by removing Step 1 of the Wage Grid. Employees at Step 1 immediately prior to this effective date shall be placed at the new Step 1 and the employee’s increment anniversary date shall then become the effective date of this change.

Government is working closely with BC Housing to fund the TMAs by the new date cited above. The TMAs will continue to be paid until new collective agreements are negotiated by CSSEA, at which time comparability adjustments in an updated Wage Schedule is expected.

We appreciate that the extremely short notice provided for these changes may create payroll challenges.  If employers are unable to reverse payroll rules that were established to implement the now-rescinded TMA in September, please contact your BC Housing representative and copy David Lin at CSSEA ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) so that funding issues can be coordinated and addressed.

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