Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program Agreement Signed
Dear Members,
You may be aware that a Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program has already been made available to some BCGEU employees. The Employer recently approached the PEA to discuss extending a similar program to eligible PEA members. Following those discussions, the Union and Employer have reached agreement and signed a Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program (VRI).
The program includes two components:
- Early Retirement Incentive (ERI)
- Retirement Incentive (RI)
Participation in the program is by invitation only, so not all eligible employees will be invited to apply.
How will it work?
The Public Service Agency (PSA) will identify and approve participating ministries, and the Employer will then invite eligible employees to apply. Invitations will be limited to employees who either occupy positions that can be declared redundant or whose retirement would create a vacancy that can be used for placement purposes.
To be eligible, employees must be 55 years of age or older, or have sufficient pre-retirement leave available to bridge them to age 55.
Once an invitation is issued, employees will have five weeks to gather information and decide whether to apply. Members should be aware that applications cannot be withdrawn once submitted.
The Employer does not anticipate issuing invitations before September. However, members who are already considering retirement may wish to take this program into account when deciding when to submit their retirement paperwork.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Andrea Mears,
Labour Relations Representative
