Bulletin
Public sector workers will receive maximum cost-of-living adjustment in year 3 wage increase
March 20, 2024
To: Members at BC Hydro, BC Transit, Capilano University, ICBC, and Powertech
The BC government announced on Tuesday that public-sector unionized employees with ratified collective agreements will receive the maximum cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in their year 3 wage increase.
This means our members in the public sector will be receiving the maximum wage increase of 3% in the final year of your respective collective agreements which were signed in 2022 under the government’s Shared Recovery Mandate. This amount is comprised of the 2% guaranteed general wage increase and a COLA that is capped at 1%.
The date you will see your wage increase reflected depends on when your collective agreement is set to expire.
Members at BC Transit, BC Hydro or Powertech will see your increase on April 1, 2024 (your collective agreement expires on March 31, 2025).
Members at ICBC or Capilano University will see your wage increase on July 1, 2024 (your collective agreement expires on June 30, 2025).
With the year 3 increase at 3%, this brings the average general wage increase over the course of our collective agreements to a total of 13.5%.
- Year 1: a flat increase of $0.25/hour which provides a greater percentage increase for lower paid employees, plus 3.24% (roughly working out to 3.75%)
- Year 2: 6.75%
- Year 3: 3%
The cost-of-living wage increase that public sector unions, including MoveUP, were able to achieve for our members was made possible because of your collective strength and the way we stood with one another, and with other union members, during bargaining.
Having a progressive, worker-friendly government, that values public services also played a significant part in reaching these gains.
It is quite the difference from the years when we were dealing with a conservative, anti-worker government – namely, BC United (formerly the BC Liberal Party) – at the bargaining table. When we don’t have governments that value our work, we are left no choice but to focus our energies on fighting against cuts to pay, cuts to working conditions and, ultimately, cuts to jobs, instead of achieving gains.
This announcement is good news, for our MoveUP members who work in the public sector and for all of BC.
In solidarity,
Graeme Hutchison, President
Lori Mayhew, Secretary-Treasurer
Rysa Kronebusch, Vice-President, Utilities
Christy Slusarenko, Vice-President, Combined Units
Annette Toth, Vice-President, ICBC