ICBC – Top 10 Questions and Answers about the Proposed Collective Agreement

Thank you to everyone who has already voted to ratify your new collective agreement. Voting will remain open until Friday June 2, 2023, at 4 p.m. If you have not already done so, log into your Member Portal and cast your confidential vote.

We also want to take the time to thank everybody who joined us on one of our two Zoom calls to discuss the new agreement, and for submitting your questions. We are doing our best to answer most of them personally, however in the meantime, we wanted to share the 10 most asked questions.

You can also review the entire Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) in full by clicking here.

Top 10 Questions

1. What are the changes to the benefits plan?
   The list of changes to our benefit plan can be found on pages 76-83 in the MOA. Please read it through as there are quite a few improvements as well as a change to spousal and dependent life insurance. The deductibles have remained unchanged.

2. When do the new benefits come into effect?
   January 1, 2024.
3. Why are there no wellness days included in this package?
   You bargaining committee had proposed 5 wellness days. We looked at what the employer offered to management and confidential (M&C) staff, and we identified key issues that convinced us to go in a different direction. These included:

• • The costs of our benefit plan would not be off-loaded to our members unlike the M&C plan;
  • The M&C plan did not adequately address the top concerns of our members as identified in the bargaining survey which were

a) improve paramedical coverages to have more choice on usage;
b) improve vision care;
c) maintain our high value dental plan;
d) increase mental health and counselling services, and
e) coverage for vaccinations without making significant
sacrifices to your dental plan.

Because of all those considerations, we decided to put more resources into funding mental health and counseling treatment so that our members and their dependents could afford the help they need, not just a day off, but extended mental health care that will be a greater benefit for the long term.

4. Why are there five Indigenous Cultural Days?
   This initiative is part of our government’s work on reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples and is something our union takes very seriously. This new form of leave acknowledges the colonial injustices that have been inflicted on Indigenous peoples, such as the genocide of their children in residential and day schools, laws that made it illegal to speak their own languages or to celebrate within their communities with potlatches, and the impacts on Indigenous communities from centuries of systemic racism and discrimination. It honours and acknowledges that Indigenous people were on this land thousands of years before European settlement and that Indigenous people have legal rights within our constitution. These five days are just one of many steps that we can take to show our fellow union members that we recognize their unique cultures and their legal rights under the Constitution, and that we want to do our part toward reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. This cultural leave is also a recognition of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and was passed into legislation in BC as the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act in November 2019. Additionally, recognition of Indigenous People’s unique rights and culture is an aspect of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report and recommendations.
5. Everyone worked during the pandemic. Why are only certain positions receiving the $1275?
   After much discussion, we agreed that the positions to be included would be direct, customer-facing jobs, such as Driver Examiners, Client Service Representatives, their respective supervisors, and a few positions in the salvage facilities. The agreement was to recognize positions that were not included in the ‘pandemic pay’ which had been paid in the early stages of the pandemic to the employees at Service BC offices.
6. Why did Salary Group 3 and 4 move to Salary Group 5? Doesn’t that devalue the work of those of us in Salary Group 5 and higher?
   The affordability crisis is impacting all workers, but by far the most impacted are those who earn the least. The initiative to move SG3 and SG4 positions to SG5 is a concrete way to lift our lowest paid workers up a little more, and to ensure everyone at ICBC is receiving a living wage. This change does not take away from the contributions of those in the higher salary groups because as we lift one another up, we all benefit in the end.
7. The recruitment and retention incentives don’t include all jobs in ISD. Why?
   The list of jobs was determined by ICBC through their analysis of current and historical trends of attracting and retaining talent, specifically in ISD. According to ICBC, they looked at the amount of time it has taken to fill positions, resignation rates, compression, and the total number of incumbents overall. They are not interested in amending the list of included jobs, at this time.
8. Which jobs have been expanded to work on weekends?
   Account Services is the only area that has been added to Article 12.04 (l). The weekend hours are limited to Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
9. Did we lose the weekend premium of time and a half pay?
   No, the weekend premium remains unchanged.
10. When will we receive our retroactive pay and when will we start to see the increase in our base pay?
    ICBC is still working to provide these dates for us. For those positions that are to receive the $1275 one-time subsidy, it will be paid within 60 days of ratification.

Watch the Online Presentation

We have had a few requests to share a copy of our Zoom presentations for those who could not join us last Wednesday and Thursday. The link to watch the Thursday morning session can be found here.

Most of the questions that were submitted in advance are answered in our presentation and explanation of the MOA. The same material was provided at each session.

Salary scales

To see what the salary scales will be for each of the three years of this agreement, please click on the links below. Please note that there are two versions of the Year 3 scale, one based on a 2% raise and the other based on a 3% raise. As we have informed you, the wage increase in Year 3 will be a minimum of 2% and a maximum of 3% and the amount will be based on the annualized average of BC’s consumer priced index (CPI) over 12 months starting on March 1, 2023.

Salary Table – July 1, 2022
Salary Table – July 1, 2023
Salary Table – July 1, 2024 (based on the minimum 2% increase)
Salary Table – July 1, 2024 (based on the maximum 3% increase)

Voting Assistance

If you require assistance signing into your Member Portal, you can refer to our online guide or watch the tutorial videos for more information. You will need your membership number and your personal email address to create an account.

If you do not know your membership number, please go to moveuptogether.ca/membernumber  complete the online form and you will be contacted within 1 business day. Forms received on or after June 1, 2023, may not provide enough time for our staff to assist you. Please don’t delay.

If you have difficulty signing on to the Member Portal, please email membership@moveuptogether.ca for assistance.

Your bargaining committee unanimously supports ratification of this proposed collective agreement.

If you have any further questions about the proposed settlement, you can email us at icbcbarg@moveuptogether.ca.