Settlement agreement reached in British Columbia on Bill 29

Expanded rights, compensation and retraining highlight deal settling thousands of grievances

Victo Photo of George Heyman ria (29 Jan. 2008) - Unions representing 40,000 British Columbia health care workers reached a settlement Monday with the Campbell government following months of negotiation to implement the historic Supreme Court of Canada ruling last June, which struck down key sections of Bill 29.

The deal includes compensation, retraining and expanded rights for workers affected by contracting out.

Highlights include financial compensation for workers who have suffered harm from contracting out, retraining opportunities, enhanced severance and retirement provisions, expanded rights to bid on jobs province-wide and a commitment to meaningful consultation on outsourcing.

"These agreements conclude a six-year struggle by working people to have their constitutional rights respected by the provincial government," said BCGEU president George Heyman.

"This is a significant victory for our members. Through negotiations which the Supreme Court of Canada said should have taken place six years ago, we have won compensation, training and job opportunities for members who were negatively impacted by contracting out," he added.

"The Supreme Court decision and these negotiations ensure that governments can no longer overturn collective agreements without significant consequences."

Outstanding grievances

Union negotiators for the Community Bargaining Association (CBA), Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA), Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA) and the Nurses' Bargaining Association (NBA) reached agreements over the weekend to settle more than 3,000 outstanding grievances following the implementation of Bill 29. The legislation improperly removed rights to seniority and job protection when health services were contracted out across B.C.

The settlement affects approximately 9,000 BCGEU members in the CBA, some 3,000 members in the FBA and approximately 1,200 members in the HSPBA. The main elements include:

Community Bargaining Association members:

Doubled severance for workers impacted by contracting out - including one week of severance for every year of service, compared to one week for two years previously.
$4 million lump sum payment - $1.5 million for compensation to impacted individuals and $2.5 million for retraining and mitigation.
An obligation for employers to engage in meaningful "good faith" consultation and proper notification of future contracting out, along with the opportunity to propose alternatives to contracting out and labour adjustment measures for affected workers.
Expanded rights to bidding for health sector jobs across all six health authorities in the province and reimbursement of relocation expenses up to an agreed amount.
Restoration of service and seniority rights for members whose jobs are returned to direct service.

Facilities Bargaining Association members:

Maintenance of a 700 full-time equivalent (FTE) cap on contracting out, to now be governed by the grievance and arbitration process.
Removal of legislative restrictions on collective bargaining that are inconsistent with the agreement.
$70 million in compensation payments to health care workers impacted by past contracting out actions under Bill 29 (including $2 million for retraining).
$5 million to retrain workers laid off as a result of future contracting out.
Expanded rights to bidding for health sector jobs across all six health authorities.
Union consultation on future plans to contract out services, or re-tender services already contracted out, and an opportunity to propose alternatives to contracting out and labour adjustment measures for affected workers.

Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association members:

A $3-million one time payout that compensates members impacted by Bill 29 and the establishment of an educational fund for health science professionals.
A new process for consultation between HSPBA, health authorities and the ministry of health on human resources planning and other strategic initiatives.
An expedited arbitration process for classification grievances.
Correction of the "promotional glitch" for temporary employees.

NUPGE

NUPGE The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring that our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE

More information:

? B.C. health care unions resume meetings on Bill 29 today
? B.C. health care unions open talks on Supreme Court ruling

Supreme Court Decision:

• Supreme Court of Canada affirms labour rights are human rights
• Complete Text: Supreme Court of Canada decision
• NUPGE labour rights page

Additional reports:

• HSABC welcomes talks on Supreme Court ruling
• Campbell Liberals ignoring Supreme Court ruling
• James Clancy: much work remains after Supreme Court ruling
• Labour rights are human rights: NUPGE Convention 2007
• BCGEU outlines impact of ruling for workers
• UN agency condemns violations by B.C. Liberals
? B.C. unions lose provincial court challenge
• B.C. unions will appeal to Supreme Court of Canada
• Full Text: Court of Appeal of British Columbia