Greetings CUPE 1004 Nurses,
Members of the Nurses’ Bargaining Association (NBA) have successfully ratified a new three-year collective agreement with B.C.’s health employers, effective April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2025. In addition to the terms of the contract, nurses will now see the benefits of hundreds of millions of dollars in funding agreements reached between the NBA and the provincial government.
Sixty-one per cent of NBA members voted in favour of the tentative agreement reached on March 31, 2023. The contract applies to nurses working in acute care, community, public health, long-term care, and other settings within the province’s health care system.
The agreement includes the following general wage increases for all employees:
- Year 1: $0.25 /hr plus 3.24%, retroactive to April 1, 2022
- Year 2: 6.75%, retroactive to April 1, 2023
- Year 3: 2% increase, plus a potential cost-of-living adjustment (to a maximum of 3%)
In addition to the general wage increase, the collective agreement includes a significant wage schedule redesign that provides meaningful wage gains, including new increment steps at years 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30. There are also significant increases to shift premiums, on-call rates, responsibility pay and isolation travel allowance.
The agreement also includes significant improvements in job flexibility and access to leaves, as well as investments in workplace health and safety. New contract language will also advance the principles of diversity, equity and inclusivity to ensure that all nurses are welcome in their workplaces. A genuine commitment to truth and reconciliation, cultural safety, and strategies to address Indigenous-specific racism in the healthcare system is also incorporated into the agreement.
The ratification of the collective agreement secures the following historic funding agreements reached between the NBA and provincial government:
- $750 million to support the establishment of minimum nurse-patient ratios ($200M, $250M and $300M ongoing), making B.C. the first province in Canada to implement this transformative staffing model;
- $100 million to establish a nurse support fund and career laddering opportunities for LPNs to become RNs; and
- $108.6 million in ongoing funding to support retention strategies that include, but are not limited to, mentorship and preceptorship incentives.
Yours in solidarity,
Andrew Ledger
CUPE Heath Sector Coordinator