BCGEU reaches tentative contract
The NDP government and the BCGEU have reached a tentative contract deal, months before the main public service contract is set to expire next March 31.
The B.C. Government and Service Employees Union announced the three-year tentative agreement with the B.C. Public Service Agency on Wednesday.
It covers some 26,500 people who work directly for the provincial government and is likely to set a standard for talks with smaller unions.
The union said the deal includes wage increases each year and targeted increases in specialized fields to make it easier to attract and keep specialists. However, neither the union nor the government released details of the deal, saying that would happen during the ratification process.
BCGEU president Stephanie Smith said in a news release that the deal involved intensive talks, sometimes running past midnight.
“We believe we’ve made substantial progress in a number of key areas.”
Finance Minister Carole James said in a statement that the deal was the first of 183 contracts the government has with various unions, most of which expire next year.
The tentative agreement covers 21,800 employees in the B.C. public service who are members of the BCGEU.
The BCGEU main agreement also includes 4,200 employees of the B.C. Distribution Branch and 480 employees at the B.C. Pension Corporation.
The union said it will provide a comprehensive report on the agreement before a ratification vote, scheduled to take place “in the coming weeks.”