Tentative Agreement Reached Between Public Service Agency And BCGEU

A tentative agreement has been reached between the Public Service Agency and the BC General Employees' Union.

A tentative agreement has been reached between the Public Service Agency and the BC General Employees' Union.

The deal covers approximately 30,000 people working in the B.C. Public Service in occupations that provide core government services, such as social services, environmental management, and public safety, including sheriffs and correctional officers.

Also covered by the agreement are unionized members of the Liquor Distribution Branch, as well some employees at the BC Pension Corporation, Destination BC and the Royal BC Museum.

The new agreement, dating back to April 1st, follows more than seven months of negotiations and a historic job action that lasted almost two weeks.

It was called off when the two sides made it back to the bargaining table.

The union says timelines for the ratification vote will be confirmed in the coming days.

More than 500,000 people work throughout the provincial public sector in the core public service, at Crown corporations, in health and community social services, in kindergarten-to-Grade 12 public education, and at post-secondary institutions and research universities.

Of those people, approximately 393,000 are unionized employees paid under collective agreements or professionals paid through negotiated compensation agreements.