Over 25,000 members of the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association have voted 90% in favour of a new Collective Agreement effective April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2029.
The contract provides a 12% wage increase over the four-year term, retroactive to April 1, 2025.
The contract also includes significant progress on classifications and improvements to premiums, special leave, isolation allowance, portability, employer-paid professional fees, scheduling, occupational health and safety, and dedicated union stewards. There is a one-time fund of $3.5 million for professional development and education, with an increase of annual funding to $600,000 in 2027, a new Cultural Revitalization Fund to support Indigenous employees, an expansion of the Cultural Days of Significance pilot, and a new commitment to end the practice of contracting in or out.
The terms of the new contract take effect immediately. Dates for retroactive payments will be determined as quickly as possible and announced as soon as they are set. Expect to see an announcement in early April. Members are reminded that the delivery of retroactive pay is in the employer’s hands and that timing may vary from one to the next.
HSPBA represents over 25,000 health science professionals in five constituent unions across the province. They include: Canadian Union of Public Employees, Health Sciences Association, BC General Employees’ Union, Professional Employees Association, and Hospital Employees’ Union.
As your representatives to the HSPBA bargaining committee, we want to thank all CUPE members for their support and solidarity in reaching this collective agreement. Together, CUPE and the other unions of the HSPBA made significant progress on your priorities in challenging conditions. Our membership stood together when it mattered most – voting 90% in favour of job action in December. It was this show of unity across all professions and communities that strengthened the bargaining committee’s position and helped achieve the extra funding needed for this contract.
In Solidarity,
Your CUPE representatives to the HSPBA bargaining committee