MoveUP members ratify new collective agreement at BC Hydro & PowerTech

March 1, 2023

MoveUP members at BC Hydro and PowerTech have voted successfully to ratify the tentative collective agreement between the union and the employer.

The collective agreement is retroactive to April 1, 2022 and will run through to March 31, 2025. MoveUP represents over 2,700 workers at BC Hydro and PowerTech, primarily administrative and office workers.

“We are very pleased that our members have voted to ratify this agreement,” said Lori Mayhew, President of MoveUP. “This is a fair agreement for both parties that addresses many of the core concerns that our members have, particularly through the cost-of-living, as well as other issues that affect their lives both in and out of the workplace including working conditions, benefit entitlements, childcare benefits, and leave related to domestic violence and sexual violence leave.”

“I want to thank our members at BC Hydro and PowerTech for their support and solidarity throughout the bargaining process, and especially to the members of our bargaining committee for their hard work and dedication,” said Rysa Kronebusch, Vice-President of Utilities at MoveUP. “I also want to thank and acknowledge the employer’s bargaining team for their professionalism and cordiality.”

The general wage increases in the agreement are as follows:

• Effective April 1, 2022: Increase salaries a flat rate of $0.25 per hour and then a 3.24% general wage increase.
• Effective April 1, 2023: Increase salaries to a minimum of 5.5% and a maximum of 6.75%, subject to the cost-0f-living adjustment (COLA).
• Effective April 1, 2024: Increase salaries to a minimum of 2.0% and a maximum of 3.0%, subject to the COLA.

Other highlights include:

• Increases in benefits for paramedical services, eye examinations, orthodontics, hearing aids, and mental health;
• Increase in meals and allowances;
• Additional sick days, paid cultural leave (for Indigenous members), and domestic and sexual violence leave; and
• Increase in childcare reimbursement.