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May 3, 2004
Agreement Reached to End Facilities Bargaining Dispute
Unions direct members to go to work, as a deal is hammered out on the eve of co-ordinated sustained job action in support of HEU
Thanks to the courage of HEU members who formed protest lines to defy Bill 37, and the support of other unions, including those in the private sector, who were ready to take job action to support HEU, a resolution to the Facilities Bargaining Association dispute was reached late last night.
HEU now have a limit on contracting out, an enhanced severance package, repeal of the retroactive date for pay cuts and a guarantee that no union or union member will be disciplined as a result of the protest.
Limit on contracting out: Under the agreement, job cuts as a result of contracting out are limited to 400 for the first year and 200 in the second year of the two-year contract. The number does not include employees who have already left the health care system or received layoff notice before May 1, 2004.
Enhanced severance: The government agreed to allocate a total of $25 million for enhanced severance payments for current regular employees who leave health sector employment as a direct result of contracting out until March 31, 2006. That includes employees who received layoff notice before May 1, 2004 as a result of contracting out, and are currently working under layoff notice.
No discipline: The employer agrees on its own behalf and on behalf of its members and their contractors that no individual employee, union or union officer will suffer any form of sanction as a result of the actions taken in response to Bill 37, provided that the unions direct their members to return to work for today’s regular shift. Employees, unions or union officers who fail to comply may be subject to sanctions.
As a result of this agreement all unions have directed their members to go to work.
The agreement was reached by the provincial government, HEABC, the BC Federation of Labour and the Facilities Bargaining Association.
In announcing the agreement BC Federation of Labour President Jim Sinclair said "this agreement is clearly not everything we would have wished...But it is an agreement that protects jobs and livelihoods of thousands of men and women who provide vital health care services to British Columbians."
He said "we are all stronger today because of the actions" taken by HEU and other union members who supported the protest.
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