Update from your Chief Negotiator
April 9, 2020
Like the rest of life, the landscape of public sector bargaining in BC is changing frequently. Many of you will have heard that, after a protracted round of bargaining, the Province has reached a tentative settlement with the BCTF for BC’s K-12 teachers. This was one of the largest bargaining tables still active in BC and it, along with a number of other bargaining tables, have moved – or are moving – to quickly wrap up bargaining.
Your FSA Bargaining Team already had a series of dates scheduled with BCIT for April, and the team has been actively working to evaluate how COVID-19 changed our bargaining approach and the context within which we are finalizing this round of bargaining.
We got a clear message from the Province and the broader labour movement – now is the time to get to a deal. We do not want FSA members to fall behind the rest of the public sector and are working with our community partners at FPSE, BCFED, and CAUT to stay informed about the approach and advancements made at other open bargaining tables.
To that end, we approached BCIT early last week to table our monetary proposal package. Earlier this week, after some delays related to government bureaucracy, we met with BCIT’s representatives and received a comprehensive package in return. We are now in active negotiations with all proposals tabled. We remain confident a fair deal will be struck.