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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2013-2014 Board, Panels and Bargaining Committee Members

Congratulations to the members selected to the divisional panels, board and bargaining committee at CSSEA’s 2013 Annual General Meeting held on November 14, 2013.

For your information below is a list of the 2013-2014 divisional panels, board and bargaining committee.

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Aboriginal Services Delegated Employees Wage Increase – December 1, 2013

This is a reminder for Aboriginal Services members that there is a scheduled wage increase of 1 per cent for delegated employees on December 1, 2013.

For your convenience a copy of the delegated employees wage grid and the new rate is available for download on the CSSEA website at:

https://www.cssea.bc.ca/PDFs/Public_Documents/AS%20Appendix%20A1%20-%20Wage%20Grid%20for%20Delegated%20Programs%202013.pdf

For more information contact your HRLR Consultant.…

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Draft Copies of 2012-2014 Collective Agreements

Update (11/21/13): A copy of the Draft Aboriginal Services Collective Agreement (2012-2014) has been posted.

Drafts of the most recent versions of the Community Living Services and General Services 2012-2014 Collective Agreements have been posted to CSSEA’s Website. To download a copy of each use the links below:

Draft Community Living Services Collective Agreement (2012-2014)

Draft General Services Collective Agreement (2012-2014)

Drafts of the Aboriginal Services Collective Agreements for 2010-2012 and 2012-2014 will be posted shortly. Aboriginal Services members will be notified when they are available for download.…

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Important Flu Season Reminder

This CSSEA Info is an update to CSSEA’s 2012 Flu Season Reminder and is provided following the October 24, 2013 arbitration decision involving the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) and the Health Sciences Association, in which the arbitrator upheld HEABC’s policy requiring non-vaccinated employees to wear masks.

The decision suggests the requirement to be vaccinated against the flu or to wear a mask will apply beyond HEABC to employees of CSSEA members who provide health care services including nurses, physicians, students, volunteers and those providing contracted services who come into contact with patients, clients or residents whether in hospital, community, or home care settings.

Therefore, we continue to recommend that members with vulnerable clients in community living facilities adopt the same mandatory flu vaccine initiative during this flu season. Getting vaccinated against the flu or wearing a mask will be a significant change for some of your employees, but these enhanced protection measures will improve the safety of vulnerable clients by reducing the risk of spreading the flu.…

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Bullying and Harassment Regulations (Effective November 1)

This is a reminder that effective November 1, 2013 WorkSafeBC’s new occupational health and safety policies regarding the prevention of workplace bullying and harassment will come into force.

Agencies are reminded that there are a number of steps they are required to take before November 1, 2013 to ensure compliance.

Those steps include:…

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Municipal Pension Plan Rate Changes

Members are advised the Municipal Pension Plan (MPP) contribution rates will increase by 0.7 per cent for employees and 0.7 per cent for employers starting July 1, 2014.

In addition, the employer contribution rate for Group 1 Employees (males who do not work in public safety occupation) will see an additional increase of 0.06 per cent of salary (also effective July 1, 2014) due to contribution rate rebalancing.

For more information on the rate changes please visit the MPP website or visit the following links:…

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