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Post-secondary Instructors bargaining is underway – update your contact info - BC General Employees' Union (BCGEU)


Negotiations for the next common collective agreement for post-secondary instructors have begun. This bulletin contains important information about progress at the bargaining table and your next steps.
 
Negotiation status
 
Your bargaining committee – the Post-Secondary Instructors Bargaining Committee (IBC) – met with the Post-Secondary Employers’ Association (PSEA) and representatives from your five employers in Vancouver on February 28 to March 4 and again March 28 to March 31.
 
The meetings included a full exchange of non-monetary proposals. We reached agreement on several items – mostly housekeeping changes. However, other priority issues, including harassment and distributed learning, remain unresolved. 
 
Your committee also tabled all our monetary proposals on your behalf on March 31. These included a wage increase that provides cost of living adjustment (COLA) protections.
 
We are now waiting to hear back from the employer about all our proposals. Although movement continues to be slow and no dates are yet set for additional talks, your bargaining committee remains committed to bringing forward your priorities.
 
Bargaining process explained
 
Bargaining a collective agreement can be a long and complex process. To help you better understand what’s involved, we’ve produced an explainer video – Collective Bargaining 101 for Post-Secondary Instructors.
 
The video, which features members of your committee so you can get to know us, explains each step of the bargaining process and is indexed by topic:
 
0:08 - Determining Bargaining Priorities
2:42 - At the Bargaining Table
4:00 - Reaching Impasse: Escalation and Job Action
5:53 - Voting on a tentative agreement
6:44 - A Deal is Reached
 
You may also find this infographic useful to visual reference as you watch the video:
 



 
About your collective agreement
 
Your collective agreement covers you and 900 other BCGEU members at five B.C. institutions. It took affect April 1, 2019, and expired March 31, 2022.
 
Although your collective agreement has expired, it is important to remember that, under the terms of the Common Agreement – Article 17 – Term, both union members and the employer have agreed to fully adhere to the terms of the collective agreement while collective bargaining is ongoing. This means that, unless you hear otherwise from us, it’s business as usual for you and your coworkers.
 
For further information about your collective agreement and your employer, review our March 2nd bulletin.
 
IMPORTANT: Contact information – is it up to date?
 
It’s critical that we’re able to communicate important bargaining information with you through your personal email and phone number. If this bulletin is reaching you at your employer-provided email address, please log in to the BCGEU Member Portal immediately to review and update your personal contact information.
 
If you don’t have a BCGEU Member Portal account, click here to request an account. Then watch for an email with instructions to activate it.
 
And please check with your coworkers to ensure they are receiving our bulletins, and that they also have provided their personal contact information through the BCGEU Member Portal.
 
Finally…
 
As your elected committee, we will continue updating you as bargaining proceeds and will keep you informed every step of the way. We encourage you to read our previous bulletin to ensure you have all the information.
 
In solidarity,
Your Post-Secondary Instructors Bargaining Committee (IBC) 

  • Cam McRobb (committee chair) – Okanagan College, Local 707
  • Seth Downs – Coast Mountain College, Local 712
  • Rob-Roy Douglas – Northern Lights College, Local 710
  • Dave Briggeman – Selkirk College, Local 709
  • Al Paterson – Camosun College, Local 701
  • Linsay Buss – BCGEU Staff Negotiator
  • Jitesh Mistry – BCGEU General Counsel



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