A preliminary agreement was reached for Community Social Services

The Community Social Services Bargaining Association (CSSBA) is pleased to announce that a preliminary agreement has been reached with the Community Social Services Employers Association (CSSEA). This includes agreements for workers in the Community Living Services, General Services and Indigenous Services sub-sectors.

The tentative agreement was negotiated with nine other unions representing members in the agreement: CUPE, HEU, HSA, CSWU Local 1611, CLAC, USW 1-417, UFCW and BCNU.

Our union, which represents you and around 19,000 other members covered by this agreement, has been at the bargaining table since February 2022, working hard to advance the priorities you have identified. These priorities include fair and equitable wages to address rising living costs, meaningful recognition and rights for local workers, and the ability to address your health needs, including mental health support.

The tentative agreement has a term of three years and includes the following main points:

• Low Wage Compensation* increases, retroactive to all employees (past and present) until April 1, 2022
• $0.25 hourly increase in all pay scales, retroactive to all employees (past and present) through April 1, 2022
• 3.24% increase in all pay scales, retroactive to all employees (past and present) until April 1, 2022
• At least a general salary increase of 5.5%, effective in the first salary period after April 1, 2023
• At least a general salary increase of 2%, effective from the first salary period after 1 April 2024
• Additional salary comparability increases for all classifications
• Increase in transportation allowance, effective date of ratification
• Medical leave with 100% pay, effective April 1, 2024
• Improvements to health and welfare benefits, holiday provisions, safety and health, leave and recall, bullying and harassment.

Additionally, the following are key benefits achieved specifically for Indigenous Services:

• Equality of pay for all classifications with the collective agreement of the Main Public Service
• Retention incentive pay for all classifications
• Commitment to continue discussions on equality with the main public service agreement on recruitment and retention, compensatory recognition for cultural competence and further indigenization of the collective agreement

* Low Wage Compensation (LWR) refers to funding that aims to help reduce long-term inequalities in compensation in both the community social services and health care sectors.

Your negotiating committee unanimously supports the tentative agreement and encourages all members to vote in favor of ratification.
In the coming days, your negotiating committee will share the full details of the tentative agreement. You will also receive invitations to future information sessions and information on how and when you can vote.
Thank you for your patience and continued support of your negotiating committee during this difficult round of talks. We believe we have secured a deal that members want to support.

Member Portal To stay informed about important ratification information, we are asking all members to update your contact information on the Member Portal. If you do not yet have a Member Portal account,click here to register today.

Already have a Member Portal account? You can loginhere. If you have forgotten your password, you can reset ithere.It is more important than ever to make sure our union has your up-to-date contact information, including your personal email and phone number.

Please check with your colleagues to make sure they are also receiving these email updates and share this newsletter with them.

In solidarity,

The negotiating committee of your Community Social Services Association (CSSBA).

UWU/MoveUP