Appendix H is Undermining BC’s Emergency Response
In 2004, a provision (Appendix H) was added to the GLP collective agreement to allow for compensation of our members when they step up to help in emergencies. Unfortunately, there are some issues with this provision:
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Compensation under Appendix H is limited to certain types of emergencies, even though our members may work long and irregular hours helping with emergencies that don’t fit these criteria.
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Appendix H is often activated well into an emergency. In the most recent flood season, for example, our members received a request to help on November 12, but appendix H was not activated until December 10.
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Even when Appendix H applies, PEA members only get straight time, regardless of how much they work. This is especially unfair given that BCGEU members with similar roles are eligible for overtime in the same circumstances, meaning they’re compensated significantly more.
Not only is the current situation unfair – it hurts BC’s emergency response by discouraging participation by our members. It’s especially challenging for parents. Working long hours, working evenings and weekends, or even being asked to work from another location means time away from kids and childcare arrangements that are sometimes costly – all while being paid the same as they were for their standard work week. For our women members especially, this is a barrier.
The PEA has advocated for changes to the current situation for a number of years, but we haven’t been able to make progress on updating Appendix H. That’s why we’re campaigning the BC Government to find a solution that’s fairer to our GLP members, and will make it possible for more of these talented, dedicated experts to step up and help communities in BC recover when emergencies happen.
Appendix H Language From the GLP Collective Agreement
Appendix H
Member Profiles
Wildfire season: GLP members deployed
Since 2004 PEA members have been answering the call to help out with disaster response efforts during provincial emergencies. This despite being compensated less than their BCGEU colleagues doing the same work. The Professional reports on the inequality—and what’s being done about it in a two-part series looking at Appendix H and emergency response. This is part one on wildfires.
The 2021 B.C. fire season saw 1,600 fires burning across 8,700 square kilometres of our beautiful province. It was the third worse wildfire season on record, for area impacted. The town of Lytton burned to the ground. Cattle, pets, and wildlife vanished in the flames. People lost their homes, their possessions, their livelihoods...
Flooding and Landslides: Rebuilding the Province
The weekend before BC’s catastrophic floods in November, PEA members across the province were on high alert as they followed news reports about weather and rainfall projections. Modelling predicted nearly a month’s worth of rain would pummel southern Vancouver Island, the South Coast, parts of the Interior and the Kootenay Region, in just a few days.
In Penticton, Mike Noseworthy sounded the alarm with colleagues at the regional district, signaling that flooding was likely imminent. A senior dam safety engineer and flood specialist with the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRO), Noseworthy worked through the weekend to identify areas to be put on evacuation alert and prepared to assess the damage by helicopter first thing Monday morning...
In this section
The PEA was formed in 1974, by a group of professionals working in the public sector. The story goes that the founders of the union mortgaged their houses to fund negotiations of the union’s first collective agreement.
Now, the PEA is BC’s union for professionals. We represent a wide range of professionals including lawyers, foresters, engineers, agrologists, teachers, veterinarians, fundraisers, physiotherapists, pharmacists, psychologists program managers, librarians and more.
Our union is led by the PEA Executive. They represent members from across the chapters of the PEA and set the overall vision and direction for our union.
Resources for our members
Navigating a union can sometime be a challenging process. Under this section of the website you will find resources to help you navigate the PEA. In the members section you'll find expense claim reimbursements, information on the PEA's scholarship and bursary program and our grants and donations program.
Collective bargaining and job action resources explain the process of collective bargaining and what to do in the unlikely event of job action.
Local reps can also find resources to help them complete their job more effectively. This includes ways to welcome new members, how to take notes in investigation disciplinary meetings and more.
The heart of our union
The PEA is made up of nine chapters, or groups of members who either work for the same employer or are in the same field of work. Each chapter has an elected executive tasked with running the affairs of the chapter. Each chapter is entitled to representation at the PEA Executive, the governing body of the union.
Our members work for a range of employers: the Province of BC, the University of Victoria, St. Margaret's School, the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program, the Oil and Gas Commission, the Law Society of BC, Legal Services Society, the Okangan Regional Library and health authorities across BC.
Professionals need unions now more then ever
Since the 1970’s, when the PEA was formed, our mission has been to ensure our members can work in safe, productive environments and receive fair and reasonable wages and benefits for the valuable work they do. We help individuals and groups of professional workers to understand the challenges they face in their workplaces and some of the solutions available to them.
We work with potential members to become certified as a union and achieve the wages, benefits and respect they deserve.
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