Employment

Collective agreements

Collective agreements are legal documents negotiated between a union and an employer, and state the terms and conditions of employment.

A collective agreement achieves three objectives:

It defines the relationship between the employer and the union, the make up of the bargaining unit, management rights, and the general conditions of the contract;
It defines the substance of the contract, which covers matters such as compensation, benefits, hours of work, layoff and recall, premium pay; and
It outlines the dispute resolution process that describes the steps in a grievance and when issues are raised to arbitration.

Collective agreements change over time as a result of the collective bargaining process. Collective bargaining is a process by which the employer and a union negotiate the terms and conditions of employment. When the employer and union come to an agreement on what changes need to be made to a collective agreement, a Memorandum of Agreement is signed by both parties.

The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the City and a union must pass through a two-step ratification process. The MOA is first ratified by the Union, the Labour Relations Bureau of Metro Vancouver, and City Council. The changes agreed to in the MOA are then incorporated into the new collective agreement which is signed by the union, the mayor and the city clerk.

To view collective agreements for city employees, click any one of the employee groups below.

Note: Some collective agreements may currently be in draft form. They will be placed on this website once they are finalized. To read the latest ratified collective agreements, visit the GVRD Labour Relations website, and select the corresponding group.