Common Site Picketing Relief at Public Schools

Members with operations located in public schools may potentially be affected by picketing next week, due to the BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) announcement that they will begin a full-scale strike on Tuesday, June 17.

Members who provide services independent from the School District at public schools can seek common site picketing relief at the the Labour Relations Board (LRB) to restrict picketing activity so that it only affects the employer involved in the dispute.

To begin the process, members should make contact with the local School District representative and explain their situation. The local School District representative is normally in contact with the local Teachers’ Association and aware of their position on picketing issues. Ask the local School District for the contact information of the local BCTF representative and let them know you plan to request common site picketing relief, so that your agency can continue to operate and your employees can attend work. We have found this local process to be useful and we recommend it as an efficient first step.…

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Mandatory Early Intervention Program Fully Implemented

The Mandatory Early Intervention Program negotiated by CSSEA and the Community Social Services Bargaining Association (CSSBA) in the 2012-2014 collective agreements and reinforced in the 2014-2019 agreements has been fully implemented as of March 31, 2014.

The early intervention program is a collaborative effort between CSSEA and the CSSBA, and the sector’s disability management providers Great-West Life Assurance, Acclaim Ability Management Inc. and the Disability Management Institute to support employees unable to work due to an illness or injury.

In order for the program to succeed it is essential that Employers refer employees to the program immediately after absences of 5 or more consecutive work days.  

CSSEA has been working with all the benefit providers to ensure the process and timelines are consistent across the sector, but for the program to work Employers must refer Employees in an expeditious manner to their disability management provider to initiate the process.…

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2014-2019 Collective Agreements Implementation Guide

To assist in implementation of the ratified 2014-2019 collective agreements below is a list of the major changes and wage increases contained in the agreements and their effective dates.

The changes apply to Aboriginal Services, Community Living Service and General Services unless otherwise indicated.

The wage increases apply to all employees with the exception of employees in the Aboriginal Services division working in delegated positions negotiated pursuant to the Public Sector Master Agreement.…

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Community Social Services Sector Ratifies Five-Year Collective Agreements

Community social services employers and unionized employees represented by the Community Social Services Bargaining Association (CSSBA) have voted in favour of ratifying new five-year collective agreements effective from April 1, 2014 until March 31, 2019.

“These agreements are a major step forward for the sector by providing much-deserved wage increases for employees that significantly close the gap with Community Health workers,” said CSSEA CEO Gentil Mateus. “More importantly, the agreements provide the sector with long-term labour stability for the next five-years, ensuring no service delivery interruptions to clients and their families.”

Overall 81 per cent of employers participated in the vote with the following per cent in favour of ratification divided by division:…

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FAQS - Tentative 2014 – 2019 Collective Agreements

Last updated Wednesday, January 22, 2014.

New - Have provisions been made for funding non-union staff?

Yes. The costing CSSEA provided to PSEC for the tentative agreements included compensation increases for union, non-union and excluded staff for all CSSEA members, with the exception of Executive Directors and Chief Executive Officers. EDs and CEOs are subject to the current provincial salary freeze in the public sector for senior management. Employees in non-provincially funded programs are also not covered by the funding agreement.

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Summary of Changes to the Tentative 2014-2019 Collective Agreements

The Summary of Changes to the Tentative 2014-2019 Collective Agreements for Aboriginal Services, Community Living Services & General Services is now available for download.

Download - Summary of Changes (Size 3MB)

The comprehensive document lists all the changes to the agreements and includes interpretation and comments.

You’re encouraged to bring a copy of this package to the Ratification Information Meeting as it will be referenced during the presentation.…

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Scheduled Wage Increase on January 1, 2014

This is a reminder that per the 2012-2014 collective agreements, all non-delegated employees receive a wage increase of 1.5 per cent on January 1, 2014.

For your convenience a copy of the January 1, 2014 wage grid is available for download from the "Resources" section on the CSSEA website.

For more information contact your HRLR Consultant.

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2014 Ratification Information Meeting

A ratification information meeting will be held on Monday, January 20, 2014 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm at the Marriott Vancouver Pinnacle Hotel, 1128 West Hastings Street, Vancouver.

Decision makers from your organization – including executive directors, chief executive officers, board members and senior management – are encouraged to attend.

At the meeting CSSEA, together with Peter Cameron and members of the bargaining teams, will provide an in-depth explanation of the tentative agreements and the reasons for recommending ratification. In addition, representatives of the funding ministries and authority have been invited to be on-hand to answer funding-related questions.…

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Five-Year Tentative Agreements Reached

On December 1, CSSEA’s Bargaining Committee and the Community Social Services Bargaining Association (CSSBA) reached tentative five-year agreements for Aboriginal Services, Community Living Services and General Services that provide improvements for employers and employees to address needs specific to the sector.

These agreements were made possible during the 2014 framework discussions with the CSSBA, when it became clear both parties shared similar objectives that fit within the government's new Economic Stability Mandate.

The tentative five-year agreements are effective April 1,2014 to March 31, 2019.

Highlights of the tentative agreements include:

• General wage increases, comparability adjustments for eligible occupations to support stabilization in service delivery and modest benefit improvements negotiated within the fixed fiscal envelope set by government under the Economic Stability Mandate. 

• The possibility for further wage improvements dependent on the performance of BC's economy through the Economic Stability Dividend.…

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Local Issues Deadline Extension

Members with outstanding local issues for the 2012 round of bargaining,  please be advised an agreement has been reached with all the unions of the CSSBA extending the deadline for local issues negotiations to March 31, 2014.

Extension of Local Issues Deadline Letter

In addition, members are reminded to keep their HRLR consultant up to date on the status of their local issues negotiations and to forward completed agreements to CSSEA for final approval.

For more information contact your HRLR consultant.…

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