The Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union, local 378 (COPE 378) is recommending ratification of the agreement which includes wage and benefit improvements. The agreement is tentative until it is voted on by COPE 378’s members at ICBC.

 

“This agreement secures some important foundational elements we will build on in future negotiations,” said COPE 378 President David Black. “The wage increases will keep our members from falling further behind and they will, at long last, get maternity and parental leave top-up.”

 

The previous agreement expired March 31, 2010. The new agreement will cover April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2014. Wage increases are staggered and will take effect as outlined below:

·        July 1, 2012 (fully retroactive) – 1%

·        January 1, 2013 – 1%

·        July 1, 2013 – 1%

·        October 1, 2013 – 1%

The package also provides for  maternity and parental leave top-up , a new workload study, and  the union and the Corporation renewed gain-sharing language and signed-off new provisions for working from home.

 

“This tentative agreement brings an end to our job action at ICBC,” said Black. “Our members did a great job of keeping pressure on the employer while minimizing impacts to the public. This was a difficult round of negotiations and our gains are a direct credit to our members.”

 

Job action at ICBC will end at 12:01 AM on Sunday, November 4, 2012. Job actions included overtime and training bans, working to levels set out in the last ICBC workload study, and three days of strike action.