NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release 2012FIN0021-000422 April 4, 2012

Ministry of Finance Ministry of Advanced Education

 

BCGEU child-care workers ratify net-zero agreement

 

VICTORIA – The University of British Columbia (UBC) board of governors has provided the final ratification on a two-year collective agreement with its BCGEU child-care staff under government’s 2010 net-zero mandate, announced Advanced Education Minister Naomi Yamamoto.

 

The contract expired April 30, 2010, and negotiations have been underway since the fall of 2010.

 

On March 21, 2012, BCGEU child-care service workers voted 88 per cent in favour of ratifying the agreement, which covers approximately 250 child-care staff working at five child-care centres located in the UBC community.

 

 

Quote:

 

Minister of Advanced Education Naomi Yamamoto –

“I congratulate the negotiators on this agreement for bringing certainty to the people providing child-care services to the UBC community.”

 

 

Quick Facts:

 

• While there are outstanding agreements still being negotiated with some unions under the 2010 mandate, virtually all of B.C.’s public-sector collective agreements covered by the 2010 mandate are now settled for two years of net-zero.

• Those agreements expiring in 2012 will be negotiated under the Cooperative Gains Mandate. Government has been clear that there is no new money to fund wage increases and will not download those costs onto families or future generations. Cooperative Gains gives public-sector employers the ability to look for operational savings that may be applied to modest wage increases as long as services are maintained and costs are held to existing budgets.  

• There are about 300,000 unionized workers employed in the public service, at Crown corporations and agencies, and in the K-12, post-secondary, health and community social services sectors.
• An increase of one per cent in total compensation for all unionized public-sector employees would cost the Province approximately $196 million each year. If applied to non-union and management groups, this increases to about $237 million annually. 

 

 

Learn More:

 

Updated bargaining information is available at:  http://www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/psec/

 

 

Media Contacts:

Government Communications and Public Engagement Ministry of Finance 250 356-2821

Joanne Whittier Communications Manager Ministry of Advanced Education 250 952-6400

 

 

Connect with the Province of B.C. at: www.gov.bc.ca/connect