B.C. reaches tentative deal with over 40,000 public school support staff

The B.C. government has reached a tentative deal with more than 40,000 support workers across 60 public school districts in the province.

The framework agreement was negotiated between the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association, an accredited bargaining agent, and the K-12 Presidents’ Council, whose membership is made up of the union branches that represent the school staff.

It covers education assistants, custodians, trades and maintenance workers, Indigenous support workers, accounting staff, bus drivers, library technicians, and more.

“Our bargaining committees worked hard to reach this tentative agreement,” said Paul Simpson, K-12 Presidents’ Council president, in a Friday news release.

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“Working together, we were able to reach an agreement that recognizes the vital role our members have in providing this province’s students the highest quality of education in healthy schools.”

2:00 The province has reached an agreement with its 60 thousand health care workers

Details on the specifics of the three-year deal were not disclosed by either party on Friday.

Once endorsed by the K-12 Presidents’ Council, however, it will form the provincial agreement portion of proposals advanced in bargaining between local unions and their respective school districts, the council said.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is the largest union representing support staff at the council table.