CBA reaches tentative agreement

After five days of negotiations, including a marathon session lasting twenty-four consecutive hours, your bargaining committee is proud to announce we reached a tentative agreement with the Health Employers’ Association of BC (HEABC) on Sunday, February 22.

Over the coming days we will be creating a comprehensive summary of the changes including wage calculators, monetary and non-monetary highlights, and the details of each and every change to the agreement. This will take some time, and we appreciate your patience.

This tentative agreement represents the overwhelming solidarity between workers across seven unions, and the support you showed with a strong strike mandate, which helped us achieve incredible gains.

We made progress on every priority you identified through various member engagement activities. We also secured a fair and transparent transition process into the CBA for supportive housing workers. We look forward to sharing the details of these wins with you soon.

In Solidarity,

Your CUPE representatives to the CBA bargaining committee

Health science professionals reach tentative agreement

BC’s 25,000 specialized health professionals reached a tentative agreement in the early hours of Friday morning, after almost one year of negotiations between the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA) and Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC).

Members sent us to the bargaining table to make improvements to wages, classifications, work-life balance, recognition and respect, and partnership for quality health care.

This tentative agreement achieves gains in all these areas, despite the province’s significant fiscal challenges. It provides general wage increases of 12 per cent over four years, the maximum possible under the government’s wage mandate, and equal to that offered other public service professionals in BC. To address working conditions and service improvements and deal with professional shortages driving wait times and cancellations for the public, gains have also been made in classifications, scheduling, premiums, special leave, occupational health and safety, professional development funding, dedicated steward time and professional fees.

Your CUPE representatives to the HSPBA bargaining committee are recommending members vote yes to accept the agreement.

Complete information about the tentative agreement will be provided to members across the province starting late next week.

All members will be given a chance to vote on the tentative agreement in an online ratification vote to be held in a few weeks. Dates will be announced shortly.

Your CUPE representatives to the bargaining committee thank all members for their continued engagement and support during this round of bargaining. This tentative agreement was made possible by your determination and resolve to get a fair deal. Congratulations to all of you.

 

In Solidarity,

Your CUPE representatives to the HSPBA bargaining committee

Progress at the table as negotiations resume

Members standing together have made all the difference

Negotiations resumed this week after a significant new commitment from government—one that acknowledges key priorities identified by members.

This commitment was laid out in a bargaining framework with a monetary package equal to that offered to other public service workers in B.C., with wage increases and additional dollars for priorities addressing working conditions and service improvements. This includes the need to address professional shortages, which are driving wait times and service cancellations for the public.

Your bargaining team is now hard at work to determine how those priorities will be achieved in this contract.

Member support and action have made all the difference in this difficult round of negotiations. Locals have been finalizing job action details and completing extensive planning and preparation. And thousands of you have been supporting the work of the negotiating committee — by participating in the strike vote last month, talking to your coworkers and stewards, and attending the CUPE virtual information meetings. Members like you have pulled together, standing shoulder to shoulder, bringing us closer to the deal we need.

There is a lot of hard work yet to be done, but we believe we are on the path to an agreement that improves working conditions for members, and for the public who depend on their care.

We will share more information as it becomes available.

In solidarity,

Your CUPE representatives to the HSPBA bargaining committee

Progress being made in bargaining

Your CBA bargaining committee met again with the Health Employers Association of BC (HEABC) from February 2-6. During this week, we came close to completing the non-monetary portion of negotiations. There are a few outstanding items to address, including improvements to the occupational health and safety language, clarification on scheduling, and improvements to the overtime language.

We continue to make sufficient progress, and we have one additional week of negotiations scheduled for February 17–20. Our plan for that week is to conclude the non-monetary items and begin bargaining the monetary issues.

Your continued support is what keeps us moving forward at the table. Stay engaged, stay connected, and watch for an update after the next week of negotiations.

In solidarity,

Your CUPE representatives to the CBA Bargaining Committee

Bargaining set to resume

New bargaining dates are set, and we’re heading back to the table with momentum, unity, and a strong strike mandate behind us.

We are scheduled to meet with the employer next on January 19-23, 2026, with additional dates booked for February 2-6 and February 17-20.

With a powerful strike vote in hand, your bargaining committee is returning to negotiations focused on securing meaningful movement in this first week back at the table. No matter what community-based service you work in, our shared goal remains clear: reaching a fair agreement that delivers the stability, respect and fairness CBA workers deserve.

We will continue to push for improvements in four key areas:

  • Fair funding for our benefits. Just like the FBA (the agreement that covers workers at hospitals and other large health facilities), our benefit trust deserves full funding retroactive to 2021.
  • Fair access to overtime. We want to see the expansion of overtime by seniority to ensure overtime opportunities are allocated fairly, curtailing assignments offered by convenience or through personal relationships.
  • Protection against ‘gig work’ scheduling. CHWs deserve the same security of fixed shifts and breaks that other health care workers have had for decades. We need protections to ensure employers cannot return to the precarious scheduling practices CHWs endured for 30 years.
  • Equal pay for equal work. Wages, shift premiums, vacation, and other monetary entitlements must be brought up to the same level as other HEABC health care workers doing the same work, ensuring fairness and equity across the sector. Now that thousands more supportive housing workers have joined the CBA, this bargaining position will also support our union’s goal of bringing greater stability to B.C.’s housing services and shelters, where workers have been under-compensated for far too long.

Please watch for our next update following the January 19-23 bargaining dates. To those supportive housing members who work at the shelters and agencies that transferred into the health sector this past summer: please stay tuned to your email for a special and important update on the application of the current CBA agreement to your workplaces, which begins April 1, 2026.

In solidarity,

Your CUPE representatives to the Community Bargaining Association (CBA) Negotiating Committee

90% Yes: Members stand together for better health care

Specialized health professionals send strong message with strike vote  

BC’s health science professionals have voted 90.1 per cent in favour of taking job action in support of efforts to negotiate a fair contract.

This is a strong message that the government cannot ignore: we’re not backing down in our fight for a contract that deals fairly with recruitment and retention so that we can fix BC’s public health care system. Frontline health professionals living and working in communities across BC are standing together.

Your bargaining committee will be returning to the table in January with these results in hand. If the employer continues to refuse to engage in serious discussions to meet our priorities, we will be prepared to escalate to job action.”

We do not take this step lightly. We do not want to take job action, but we are prepared to do so because we care deeply about the future of BC’s health care system and the people who depend on it every day.

While other public sector agreements struck in recent months have offered significant funding to tackle recruitment and retention, health science professionals have been offered much less — about $100 million less (when adjusted for membership) — even as workload and burnout are so severe that 1 in 3 health science professionals are thinking of quitting. Even the additional funding offered to other tables would be insufficient to solve the dire problems contributing to delays and gaps in BC’s health care system.

HSPBA members should know that this strong strike vote result does not mean that job action will be starting soon. The next step in this process is your HSPBA bargaining committee meeting with the employer in mid-January. Please keep an eye on your email inbox for an update in the new year.

Priorities for a fair contract include: 

  • premiums – for regular workers, for evening/night/weekend shifts, for workers in student supervision and preceptor roles, and more
  • retention incentives such as an add pay system and improvements to paid time off to reward workers who stay in the public system
  • continued reimbursement for professional fees
  • correcting outstanding issues with the classifications system
  • maintaining our extended health and welfare benefits
  • professional development funding for 2026 and beyond

Health science professionals are represented by the unions of the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA), including the Health Sciences Association, Hospital Employees Union, BC General Employees Union, Professionals Employees Association, and the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

 

In solidarity,

Your CUPE representatives to the HSPBA bargaining committee

Enough is enough — time to send a strong message to the government

Your bargaining committee is calling for an official strike vote to be taken December 4-17. All members belonging to the Health Science Professionals Bargaining Association (HSPBA) will be eligible to participate in the online vote.

Your bargaining committee believes this strike vote is necessary because the employer has refused to offer the monetary package being provided to other unions. Specifically, while other unions have been offered significant funding to tackle recruitment and retention, health science professionals have been offered much less — approximately $100 million less — even as workload and burnout are so severe that 1 in 3 health science professionals are thinking of quitting.

To quote from the B.C. government’s own November 13 news release: “As is the case with the framework agreement reached with the Facilities Bargaining Association (FBA), the BCGEU Main Agreement in the Public Service includes additional increases that are over and above what will be made available to the rest of the public sector as part of the 2025 Balanced Measures Mandate.”

Without the funding being offered to these other unions, it will be impossible for your bargaining committee to deal with the priorities identified by members: fixing the classifications system, protecting benefits, ensuring fair premiums, and investing in retention of burnt-out staff.

This unequal treatment is not just unfair, it is disrespectful of the importance of frontline health care professionals, and it would contribute to further deterioration in the health care system that our communities and our economy depend upon.

Your elected bargaining committee recommends all members vote YES to send a strong message to the employer that we will not be treated as second-class citizens.

HOW THE STRIKE VOTE WILL WORK

The strike vote will be held online December 4-17. All members will be sent voting credentials via email on the day the voting begins.

You will not be able to vote if you have not provided the union with a personal email address. Please ensure your local has your current email address. More information will be provided as we approach the opening of the vote.

 

In solidarity,

Your CUPE representatives to the HSPBA bargaining committee

Community health workers vote YES to standing united for a better collective agreement

The results are in: 92.3% of members who cast a ballot in the CBA strike vote said YES to authorize strike action if necessary, to achieve meaningful improvements to our collective agreement.

This is more than a vote – it’s a powerful statement. Your strong mandate sends a clear message to our employer: we are united, serious, and ready to secure the respect and fairness we deserve. In the coming weeks, we will schedule new bargaining dates and bring this strike mandate to the table to demand a fair agreement on par with other HEABC health care workers.

This strike vote also marks several milestones: the largest turnout the CBA bargaining unit has ever seen, the unification of supportive housing workers under a single collective agreement, and the strongest voice we’ve had in the last 30 years of bargaining.

Thank you to everyone who voted. With this historic strike mandate, our collective voice has never been stronger, and we are committed to securing a fair agreement for all community health workers.

 

In solidarity,

Your CUPE Representatives to the Community Bargaining Association (CBA) Negotiating Committee

HSPBA bargaining update: Progress slows to a crawl

After another week of talks, your bargaining committee remains very disappointed with the lack of progress being made in negotiations. Eight months into the process, the employer has done little to address key priorities for health science professionals struggling with workload, shortages, and waitlists. The monetary package tabled by the employer fails to recognize or respect the importance of our work.

With this lack of progress your bargaining committee is considering steps we can collectively take to pressure the employer to come to a fair deal. We are still at the table with the employer, but if progress is not made soon, next steps could include a strike vote.

We will have an update for members if there are any new developments at the bargaining table. Please make sure to update your contact information with your local so we can keep you up to date.

In solidarity,

Your CUPE representatives to the HSPBA bargaining committee

CBA Benefit Improvements Pilot for Mental Health and Wellness

Improved coverage for counselling and mental health support has been a strong priority for community health members. We’re pleased to announce that a new Mental Health and Wellness Benefit will be added to your Extended Health Benefits Plan effective January 1, 2026. This enhancement marks another important step toward achieving benefit parity with the FBA.

This new benefit is part of a special joint pilot project co-sponsored by the Community Bargaining Association (CBA) and the Joint Community Benefits Trust (JCBT).

Here are the details:

  • Effective Date: January 1, 2026
  • Annual Limit: A combined maximum of $1000 per calendar year.
  • What’s Covered:
    • Registered Psychologist
    • Online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (iCBT) – this is an online- only benefit through specific PBC-approved providers.
      Learn more here: PBC’s Online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy 
    • Registered Clinical Counsellor
    • Registered Social Worker
    • Marriage and Family Therapist
  • Reimbursement: Up to the Pacific Blue Cross (PBC) reasonable and customary limit per visit, subject to coinsurance.
  • Eligibility: This benefit is for eligible members only.
  • Pilot Period: This pilot project benefit enhancement will be re-evaluated annually.

This new benefit marks another step forward in improving access to meaningful mental health supports for community health workers. The CBA remains committed to ensuring your benefits evolve to reflect the realities of your work and the care you provide every day.