Bargaining
BCH & Powertech – Bargaining Update # 4
September 6, 2022
To: All MoveUP members at BCH & Powertech
We hope all of you have had an enjoyable summer. As we enter the fall, our bargaining with your employer will ramp up and we wanted to provide all of you with some updates as well as provide some context on what else is happening in the public sector at large.
When will we return to the bargaining table?
Your bargaining committee has dates scheduled for October 12-14, and November 2-4 and 8-10.
Why has it taken this long to start bargaining?
We wanted to start bargaining as soon as your last collective agreement expired, and we had originally scheduled bargaining in June. However, your employer cancelled those dates due to their inability to negotiate monetary proposals without a mandate from the Public Sector Employers’ Council (PSEC). The IBEW has encountered similar difficulties as well and have also delayed their bargaining.
How has our bargaining committee been preparing?
Your bargaining committee meet over 10 days from March to June to review the results of our members’ survey and to determine our membership’s priorities for this round of bargaining. We relied heavily on what you said in the survey and formulated proposals based on those results.
We are very grateful for all your participation. It took us three days just to sort through the hundreds of responses.
What will we be asking for in our proposals?
We want enhancements in all areas of your collective agreement. We anticipate your employer will come to the table with a moderate list of proposals. Know that we will not accept any concessions (i.e. cutbacks).
We feel this will be one of the most debated and contentious public sector bargaining processes that our BC Hydro members have seen in the last 30 years. However, we are confident, committed, and will fight hard to get you a fair contract. Remember, however, that the PSEC will have final say when it comes to wages.
Is PSEC related to what’s been happening with the BCGEU strike?
PSEC sets the wages for all public sector bargaining in the province. That is why all public sector unions are looking to see which public sector union comes to an agreement first and what the monetary framework will be.
The BCGEU’s recent strike happened because they reached an impasse at the bargaining table regarding the issue of wages. Public sector unions, including ours, have identified that a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is crucial to supporting members as they deal with rising costs due to inflation. That is why the BCGEU bargaining team rejected a reported 11% raise over three years that had been offered as it fell short of that COLA expectation.
However, the BCGEU has since ended their job action as they felt they were making positive progress on an agreement.
In the meantime, on Friday, September 2, the Facilities Bargaining Association (led by the Hospital Employees’ Union) announced they had reached a tentative agreement with their employer. This deal, if accepted by their members, is expected to set the stage on wages in the public sector and we will be watching that closely as more information comes out.
If PSEC makes the rules, how can workers fight for better conditions and wages?
PSEC is often portrayed as autonomous from government, but that is not actually the case. PSEC exists within the Finance Ministry, is chaired by the Minister of Finance, and its president reports directly to the Minister.
That is why unions, and union members, support one another with respect to bargaining. Their struggle is our struggle, and their successes will be our successes.
Our job is to get the best possible deal for our members and to get an outcome that does not comprise that the work that our labour movement partners are engaging in.
Other MoveUP bargaining units, such as at some credit unions, have announced new deals that include COLA. Why are they different?
MoveUP has recently been able to negotiate strong collective agreements for our members working at financial institutions that include a cost-of-living allowance and various wage increases. These institutions are in the private sector, and therefore they can bargain wages independent of government. They are not mandated by the government like BC Hydro and other public sector institutions are.
Quick facts about the public sector:
- BC Hydro is one of many public sector bargaining units that is mandated by PSEC.
- There are approximately 430,000 workers in BC’s public sector, which includes Crown corporations and agencies, health and community social services, and K-12 and post-secondary education.
- More than 330,000 public sector workers are unionized, and subject the same “mandate” determined by PSEC, which has coordinated all public sector bargaining in BC for over 25 years.
- The “mandate” stipulates all public sector bargaining agents are subject to the same wage increase, collective agreement length, and bargaining cycle.
We appreciate and thank all of you for your continued support and interest in this bargaining process. We will have more information out to you when we have more to report.
In solidarity,
Your bargaining committee:
Mike Novak, Union Representative
Javed Saheb, Union Representative
Rysa Kronebusch, Vice-President – Utilities
Anderson Charles, Bargaining Committee Member
Calvin Jonas, Bargaining Committee Member
Shelly Johnston, Bargaining Committee Member
Kelly Cammack, Bargaining Committee Member
Rhys Coulter, Bargaining Committee Member
