As community social services negotiations are set to resume this week, the employer association has finally responded to a request to discuss essential services. Your unions asked for preliminary discussions in late September after the first negotiating session in nearly three months ended with no progress. The BC Liberal provincial government's Community Social Services Employers' Association (CSSEA) failed to respond to two letters from the union bargaining association until a day after a set deadline. The unions have now filed the request with the BC Labour Relations Board.

BURNABY—Community social services workers and the unions that represent them, including CUPE, are working with coalition partners to build and maintain pressure on the BC Liberal government to stop the closures of group homes and to properly fund the sector.

Earlier this week, a coalition of advocates and unions wrote to Jane Holland, BC’s Advocate for Service Quality see letter here asking her to work with the Ministry and Community Living BC to stop the cost-driven closures and

BURNABY—Wednesday’s rally in Kelowna by community social services workers and their supporters outside a provincial meeting of the Community Social Services Employers' Association (CSSEA) sent a strong message to the employer that CSS workers deserve fairness and respect, and they need a settlement after a full year of contract negotiations.

"A fair deal from our employers isn’t too much to ask," said Michael Lanier, president of CUPE 1936 and a member of the Community Social Services Bargaining Association.

Community Social Services workers from across BC have issued an open letter to their employers asking for a fair and equitable collective agreement.

BURNABY - Unionized community social service workers will rally today in Kelowna at the annual convention of their employer bargaining association, CSSEA (the Community Social Services Employers Association.)

Throughout negotiations, CSSEA has insisted that community social services workers accept their “zero mandate.”

Employers have so far offered only two more years of:

• No wage increases

• No net benefit improvements

• No employment security during a time of lay-offs

• No significant collective agreements changes to create a fairer workpla

BURNABY— The Community Social Services bargaining committee is meeting this week to prepare to resume negotiations next week with the provincial government's Community Social Services Employers’ Association (CSSEA) and its member employers.

We're looking forward to working with employers to reach a fair settlement that improves the working life and conditions of our members.

The multi-union bargaining committee met with the CSSEA/Employers throughout the month of June. These meetings failed to provide any substantive movement by either party.

BURNABY— The Community Social Services bargaining committee tasked with negotiating a new collective agreement met with the employer group for four days last week. (June 21-24)

The committee’s work centered around trying to establish clarity on a variety of issues raised by the employer group and gaining new contract language.

The committee is working within the mandate members gave us: to restore previous conditions of employment.

Keep watching cupe.bc.ca for further updates.

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BURNABY—Community social services workers are in every community in B.C., helping people daily. The services these workers provide are crucial to the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the province. Yet these programs remain a low priority for the provincial government.