Two Weeks Left to Submit Awards of Excellence Nominations

Members and Associates are reminded that Community Social Services Awards of Excellence nominations are due by 5pm on April 5 so now is the time to complete your submissions. The awards, sponsored by TELUS, are a wonderful way to acknowledge the exceptional individuals working at your agencies and in the community social services sector at large. We welcome re-submissions for individuals who were nominated in previous years and not selected to receive an award.

To learn more about the nomination process, please refer to this CSSEA Info. The online nomination form can be found here and this year’s winners will be celebrated at a luncheon in Vancouver on October 10 as part of CSSEA’s 2024 AGM and Conference.

If you have any questions, please contact Doris Sun at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .…

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April 1, 2024 Implementation of the Revised Sick Leave Article

As members may be aware, a number of revisions to the health and welfare benefit articles were agreed to during the last round of collective bargaining, including strengthening the Early Intervention Program language while increasing the pay for sick leave to 100%. The changes were outlined in the Summary of Changes and the Key Dates to Note CSSEA Info.

This is a reminder that changes to the sick leave article are to take effect on April 1, 2024 and changes to the article are noted below:

ARTICLE 19 – SICK LEAVE

19.1 Sick Leave Credits

(a) Premium Reduction
The following sick leave provision may be varied by mutual agreement between the Association of Unions and the Employer in the event further Employment Insurance premium reductions for eligible sick leave plans are attainable under the Employment Insurance Act.…

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Reminder to Provide Technical Information

CSSEA members who have not yet submitted technical employee information to their unions pursuant to Article 8.4 of the Collective Agreements are reminded to do so as soon as possible. Some of the unions have also sent reminders. Article 8.4 provides as follows:

8.4 Technical Information

(a) The Employer agrees to provide to the Union such information as is available relating to employees in the bargaining unit, as may be required by the Union for collective bargaining purposes.

(b) In January of each year the Employer will provide to the Union a list of all employees in the bargaining unit, their job titles, addresses and their phone numbers.

Much of this information is already provided twice yearly by Employers under Article 12.2 – Seniority List.  

If you have any questions, please contact your HRLR Consultant or Advocate.…

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Nominate Now for 2024 Community Social Services Awards of Excellence!

CSSEA is now welcoming nominations for our ninth Community Social Services Awards of Excellence, sponsored by TELUS. The awards have, since 2015, honoured four exceptional individuals working in community social services who excel in their roles at delivering vital services to individuals in BC. Anyone can submit a nomination and both CSSEA Members and Associates are eligible to be nominated.

Four Award Categories

The following are the four awards nomination categories:

• Rising Star: An individual with less than five years of experience who demonstrates early success.
• Leader: An individual with more than five years of formal leadership experience who leads and mentors a team to achieve a common goal.
• Hero: Someone who goes the extra mile to make a difference, not necessarily in a formal leadership role.
• Legend: An ED or CEO with at least 15 years of experience who has made extraordinary contributions to the community and the sector.…

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Duty to Cooperate and Duty to Maintain Employment: New Return-to-Work Requirements for Employers and Employees

Employers and employees now have a legal duty to cooperate with each other and with WorkSafeBC for an employee’s timely and safe return to work following a workplace injury.

The Workers Compensation Act (WCA) Bill 41 received royal assent in late November 2022 and part of the Bill involves a duty to cooperate in any workplace injury that occurred on or after January 1, 2022, as well as a duty to maintain employment in any workplace injury that occurred on or after July 1, 2023. Employers and employees have mutual obligations under the duty to cooperate.

Specifically, both parties are legally required to cooperate by contacting each other and maintaining communication, identifying suitable work for the employee, providing WorkSafeBC with information required to support return-to-work efforts, and doing other related tasks that WorkSafeBC may require.…

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Announcing New Community Social Services Early Intervention Program Coordinator

The 2022-2025 CSSEA Collective Agreements have established the creation of two Community Social Services Early Intervention Program (CSSEIP) Coordinators, one for employers and the other for the Community Social Services Bargaining Association (CSSBA). The purpose of these roles is to provide each of the parties with dedicated oversight and to ensure the program operates as intended. CSSEA is pleased to announce that Satvinder Basran has been appointed as the employers’ Early Intervention Program Coordinator.

As many of you are already aware, Satvinder most recently served as the first CEO of the Community Social Services Health & Safety Association of BC. Effective immediately, he is available to support CSSEA member employers with the CSSEIP while maintaining a presence at the Health and Safety Association to facilitate a smooth transition. The CSSBA has not yet appointed its Coordinator but we hope this will happen soon to enhance the support available to workers who are ill or injured.

If you have any questions, please contact Satvinder Basran at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .…

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BC's New Pay Transparency Act

Employers in BC can no longer ask job applicants what they have been paid at positions with other employers and must post wage rates in advertised job postings. This is all part of BC’s new Pay Transparency Act, new legislation that attempts to close the gender pay gap in BC, which is one of the largest in Canada. The Act places new requirements on employers to address systemic discrimination in the workplace and includes the following key provisions:

Inquiries about Job Applicant Pay History

While employers in BC can no longer ask job applicants about what they have been paid at previous employers, pay history already on record may be used to determine pay for new positions; similarly, employers may rely on publicly accessible information on pay for similar positions.

Limits to Pay Secrecy

Effective immediately, employers in BC cannot dismiss, suspend, demote, discipline or harass an employee who:…

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Arbitration Award Issued on Delayed Payment of April 2023 Wage Rates and Retroactivity

Further to this CSSEA Info issued on May 5, 2023, CSSEA has concluded its hearing representing our member agencies in relation to the policy grievance filed by the CSSBA on delays in paying the April 2023 wage rates and retroactive wage entitlements. In this policy grievance, the CSSBA claimed many of their bargaining unit members had not yet received the wage increase and/or retroactivity. 

The CSSBA sought immediate payment of the April 2023 wage rates and all retroactive payments. As part of its make-whole remedy, the CSSBA also sought court-ordered interest on these outstanding entitlements.

The hearing was initially scheduled for September 11, 2023 but was rescheduled to October 21, 2023 as it appeared that the vast majority of employers had either paid, or were in the process of paying, the prevailing wage rates and retroactive payments. As of the date of the hearing, CSSEA was aware that only a small number of agencies had yet to implement current wage rates and/or make retroactive payments.…

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Scheduled Power Outage to Affect CSSEA Website and E-Mails

Members are advised that, due to a scheduled building-wide power outage at CSSEA’s office, our network and website will be down from 4:00 pm on Friday, October 13 to the afternoon of Saturday, October 14. During this time, CSSEA’s email system will also be down. Those who are planning to submit their 2023 Compensation and Employee Turnover Reports prior to the October 13 deadline are asked to do so before the network shutdown.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. If you have any questions, please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .…

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2023 AGM and Conference Registrations Closing Soon

Registrations for CSSEA’s 2023 AGM and Conference, Future: Bright, will be closing at 5:00 pm on Monday, October 16. Members and Associates who are still looking to attend the event, taking place October 25-27 at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Grand Okanagan Resort in Kelowna, are asked to register now to avoid disappointment. A number of sessions are already full and the conference is nearly completely sold out.

Details on the program, as well as the online registration form, can be found on our conference website. If you have any further questions, please contact Doris Sun, Director of Communications, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . We look forward to seeing you in Kelowna!…

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