SPECTRUM

Society for Community Living

www.spectrumsociety.org

Wage Equity Update #4 - August 31, 1999

Wage Increases:

Effective August 24^th, 1999, the following pay scales are in effect at Spectrum:

These increases are made possible because we have started up two new programs which bring with them additional wage and administrative funding, and because we have stayed within budget for our existing programs.

The cancellation of team meetings and staff training during July and August saved Spectrum about $6,000. We also saved money by replacing many individual summer vacations with our first week-long camp. Our summer student grant from the federal government allowed us to serve a number of people who have no funded services, at no additional cost to Spectrum. Funding from casino grants was more than in previous years. And thanks to our effective lobbying campaign and our local MCF staff, Spectrum was granted an exemption from the 1.5% budget cuts being applied to other social service agencies. (See the attached letter) All of these savings have alleviated some of the financial pressure we were feeling just a few months ago, allowing us to increase staff wages again. This is the fourth raise in less than a year.

We still have not received any additional wage money from government since 1996. Most of our contracts are funded at $12.70/hr for CSW positions - meaning that Spectrum is now subsidizing staff wages through efficiencies by over 4%. We are doing everything in our power to secure a further wage lift for our employees effective October 1,1999 to coincide with the wage lift negotiated for union workers. Spectrum has an historic long-term commitment to higher wages and better benefits because we know the people who work for Spectrum deserve to make a decent living and have the security of good benefits. Families and advocates have raised this issue repeatedly as well, stating that they strongly value the people that support their family members and want to ensure the staff are able to make a long-term commitment to their job.

Unfair Labour Practice Complaint

On July 6^th, Spectrum and 30 other non-union agencies filed an unfair labour practice complaint against the provincial government. Our complaint alleges that the government is coercing employees to join a union as the only way to secure equitable wages and benefits. The government settled contracts with unions in June, granting substantial wage lifts to unionized social service workers. However, government has been refusing to negotiate with the non-union sector, and is stalling on promised wage lifts for our employees. Since July 6^th, another 20 agencies have signed on to the lawsuit, with more joining every week.

On August 13^th, the government filed their statement of defense. The most interesting comment comes on page 10:

"In fact, PSEC is currently in discussions with CSSEA with respect to providing an interim non-union increase for the fiscal year 1999-2000 and further increases for the fiscal year 2000/2001."

We remain optimistic that we will be able to negotiate wage increases for our employees that will be effective October 1^st, 1999.

Media Relations

Along with the unfair labour practice complaint, Spectrum has participated in various media activities aimed at increasing public awareness of the wage discrimination being perpetrated against our employees. Candice Larscheid and one of her support staff appeared on the BCTV news in a story covering the lawsuit. Ernie Baatz and Rick Mowles (Executive Director of the North Shore Association for the Mentally Handicapped) met with the Vancouver Sun Editorial Board, a meeting that resulted in an editorial entitled "Non-union caregivers deserve equal wages" (see attached copy of editorial). A number of community papers throughout the lower mainland have also picked up on the story.

Policy Committee

On August 25^th, 1999, the Spectrum policy committee members met for the last meeting of their term. In September, policy representatives will ask teams to elect a policy representative for the next year. Policy meetings are generally once every two months, currently on Wednesday from 4pm to 7pm with an extra hour paid to facilitate the extra work policy representatives do in consulting with and informing their fellow team members. The policy rep is responsible for bringing team issues forward to help clarify existing policy or draft new policy. As well, the policy rep is responsible for bringing information back to their team about changes to Spectrum programs, policies or practices.

At the meeting on the 25^th, policy representatives finalized a new personnel policy and procedures manual which will be printed this week. In the front of the manual, there will be a summary of the changes made from the old manual. Watch for the delivery of new manuals in the next week or two.

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