Bargaining Frequently Asked Questions

The APSA Bargaining Committee negotiates with the University. How we bargain is outlined in section 8 of our Basic Agreement. We've also published an infographic on the process.

The Colin Taylor award is a result of final offer selection arbitration at our 2014 round of bargaining. The arbitrator, Colin Taylor, selected APSA's final offer. You can read the results of the arbitration and the signed award here.

The Public Sector Employers’ Council is responsible for strategic coordination of labour relations, total compensation planning, and human resource management for the broader public sector. It also represents the B.C. government in its role as a partner in public sector pension plans and as a steward to the Canada Pension Plan administered under the Federal Government. It lays out the negotiation mandate that the employee groups and APSA negotiate with the University.

The PSEC mandate for 2019 - 2021 is called the Sustainable Services Negotiating Mandate. The elements of the mandate include:

• A three-year term
• General wage increases of 2% in each year
• Ability to negotiate conditional and modest funding that can be used to drive tangible service improvements for British Columbians. An example would be targeted funds to address existing, chronic labour market challenges where employers need to meet service delivery commitments or changes that achieve service enhancements such as innovations, modernization or efficiencies.

Once bargaining concludes, you should expect to receive from the University any negotiated wage increases plus any other improvements that we can achieve for you.

Despite the rumours surrounding the PSEC mandate and COVID-19, PSEC is not revoking the Sustainable Services Negotiating Mandate.

Because APSA is an association under the BC Societies Act, we cannot strike. Per our Basic Agreement with the University, both parties would next enter into arbitration.

The type of arbitration used is called "final offer selection arbitration". In this process, the two parties take their final offers on the outstanding issues to an arbitrator and make their arguments for their respective positions. The arbitrator then chooses one of the two final offers in its entirety. The chosen offer is binding and included in the new agreement. The arbitrator has no authority to add, subtract, or construct any part of the final settlement, only to choose one offer.

Our bargaining process is outlined in our Basic Agreement, but these timelines depend on the availability of the University to begin bargaining and the availability of an arbitrator should negotiations enter into arbitration. We have approached the University regarding a timeline and hope to begin our 30-day negotiation period in the fall.