Vancouver/CMEDIA: A new agreement has been ratified by The Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA) representing approximately 67,500 people delivering health services throughout B.C. with Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC).
Led by the Hospital Employees’ Union, this diverse nine-union FBA bargaining unit representing about 95% of health-care workers covered by the agreement, includes hundreds of skilled health-care occupations, including care aides, lab assistants, health records clerks, dietary and cleaning staff, nursing unit assistants, and trades and maintenance workers.
Stable service delivery throughout the province which would help improve and maintain these changes.
Shift premiums increase, a new memorandum of agreement that will bring eligible care-home operators to HEABC membership to ensure workers are covered by an HEABC-negotiated collective agreement, and two new health and safety provisions are some of the highlights of terms and conditions negotiated in this agreement.
Besides having the same four-year term and annual 3% general wage increases, The FBA agreement also applies across the broader provincial public-sector negotiations as part of the 2025 Balanced Measures Mandate.
Wage comparability adjustments in response to the 15% wage cuts made in 2004 would also be received by the FBA workers. These additional increases that are over and above what will be made available to the rest of the public sector is part of the 2025 Balanced Measures Mandate.
As one of four tables chosen to receive enhanced mandates, the FBA addresses unique challenges threatening critical-service delivery and acts on government’s key priorities in this round of bargaining.
Low-wage redress has been provided at the community health and community social services tables since 2014 in the form of enhanced mandates.
Besides these two low-wage-redress mandates, the government has extended enhanced mandates in this round to the FBA and the BCGEU Main Agreement in response to the increasing affordability and labour market pressures facing those tables.
The government’s key priorities are supported by these Negotiations under the 2025 Balanced Measures Mandate and protect and strengthen critical services in BC’s public sector, to maintain labour stability and support the Province’s efforts to preserve front-line services.
