The Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) has reached a tentative agreement with members of the Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA).
The parties reached a tentative agreement based on a framework settled in August that was negotiated under an enhanced mandate and includes additional wage comparability increases linked to low-wage redress.
The enhanced mandate is in response to the impacts the FBA members continue to face as a result of unilateral 15% wage cuts imposed on them in 2004.
Since 2014, public-sector bargaining mandates have allowed for enhanced mandates to address unique challenges threatening critical-service delivery at specific tables. This has included the low-wage redress mandates in the community health and community social services sectors. In addition to the low-wage redress mandates, government 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.
As outlined in the framework agreement details, the tentative includes a commitment from government to a concrete plan to provide greater consistency of care for seniors in long-term care and assisted living, including greater wage and benefit equity for unionized employees. Government committed in July 2024 to use some of the increased health-care funding from Ottawa for this purpose.
Further details about the tentative agreement will be available following the ratification process that will soon be underway.
The FBA represents nine unions and about 67,500 workers, 95% of whom are members of the Hospital Employees’ Union and 4% of whom are represented by the B.C. General Employees’ Union. Care aide is the largest job classification in this bargaining unit, along with food service workers, cleaners, lab assistants and nursing unit assistants.
Negotiations under the 2025 Balanced Measures Mandate support government’s key priorities to protect and strengthen critical services in B.C.’s public sector, to maintain labour stability in a complex round of bargaining and to support the Province’s efforts to find operational efficiencies that preserve front-line services.
