Thank you to everyone who contributed to the survey on priorities for wage and benefit increases. The majority of participants thought the increase should be focused on wages and the increase should be evenly applied to all positions and pay grids.
The new grid will take effect January 9th, 2014.
| Position | Start | 1,500 hours | 3,000 hours | 4,500 hours |
| Asleep Night | 10.55/hr | 10.70/hr | 10.85/hr | 11.00/hr |
| Awake Night | 13.60/hr | 14.50/hr | 15.15/hr | 15.85/hr |
| CSW | 16.00/hr | 16.50/hr | 17.10/hr | 18.35/hr |
| Manager | 20.00/hr | 20.70/hr | 21.45/hr | 22.45/hr |
The survey also asked for your input on what you liked about working at Spectrum and what you would change. We’ll post another article with more on the survey results. One suggestion was to have Spectrum join the Living Wage Campaign and commit to paying a living wage for all employees. Our wages are dependent upon the funding provided by the Provincial Government, but this campaign could assist us in raising the priority of this issue with government and community. The Living Wage for Vancouver is $19.62 per hour based on average costs of housing, groceries, transportation and childcare. You can read more about how they determine this rate on their website.
They also acknowledge that non-mandatory benefits contribute to the total hourly wage and have a calculator that provides an approximation of the additions to hourly wages of benefits. Here is how Spectrum’s wages and benefits for the CSW position might be calculated:
| Description | Hourly | % of Wage |
| Starting Wage | $16.00 | |
| MSP | $0.32 | 2% |
| Health & Dental | $1.02 | 6.40% |
| Pension | $1.28 | 8% |
| Sick | $0.77 | 4.80% |
| Extra Vacation | $0.32 | 2% |
| CSW Total Hourly Rate | $19.71 |
We are committed to ensuring our employees get the best possible wages and benefits for their work. We will consult with our Board about the benefits of joining the Livable Wage Campaign.
Finally, we talked about where the Community Living sector was going with their wage increases. The Community Social Service Employers’ Association (CSSEA) bargains with a union bargaining council (11 unions) to reach an agreement that fits within the Provincial Government’s mandate. The current agreement that provided the 3% increase ends March 31, 2014, and there has already been a tentative agreement reached which would begin April 1, 2014. Highlights of the tentative agreement are:
- Four increases of 1% per year in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
- Three increases of 2.5% in 2016, 2017 and 2018 – called Comparability Increases, intended to close the gap a little between community social services workers and community health workers.
- More information on the CSSEA website – Highlights of Tentative Agreement.
We will be ensuring government is clear that they need to provide equivalent funding increases to all of their contracting agencies delivering essential community services.