Thousands of health-care support workers in British Columbia have a tentative contract agreement after a year of talks.
The BC General Employees’ Union and Health Employers Association announced the agreement Monday, saying it was reached early Sunday morning.
The contract covers 21,700 people who work in private homes, group homes, residential living centres, child development, mental-health centres and other programs around B.C.
The union says in a statement the deal represents substantial gains that workers had identified, such as significant wage increases, protecting workers’ benefits and greater control over working conditions.
- N.S. long-term care strike could soon end after tentative deal reached: CUPE
- Claude Lemieux’s death sparks renewed focus on CTE as family donates brain to research
- Quebec single mother welcomes triplets after years of fertility struggles
- Alberta man told to take taxi to ER despite emergency bleeding after knee surgery
Full details of the contract won’t be released until after the ratification vote, but the union says it’s a three-year term with general wage increases in each year, and contains a clause for low-wage redress for some workers.
Get weekly health news
The BCGEU represents about 13,000 of the workers under the contract, while representatives of other unions, including Hospital Employees, CUPE, Health Sciences Association and BC Nurses Union, were also at the negotiation table.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.