Who We Are
The B.C. Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) supports public education through innovative human resource practices, services, and partnerships. As the employers’ association and accredited bargaining agent for the province’s 60 public boards of education, we provide a full range of human resource services with a focus on the development, coordination and facilitation of human resource best practices.
Brief History
On March 6, 1992, the provincial government established the Commission of Inquiry into the Public Service and Public Sector with mediator/arbitrator Judi Korbin as commissioner. The mandate of the commission was to:
- examine the human resource practices of the public sector; and
- propose a new framework of human resource management that allowed government to meet the public’s demand for services within fiscal limitations.
On July 9, 1993, the Final Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Public Service and Public Sector was released, establishing the basis for legislation to change the structure of the public sector. Soon after, on July 27, 1993, the Public Sector Employers Act was passed, establishing the Public Sector Employers’ Council (PSEC) and employers’ associations in six sectors of the public sector:
- health
- K-12 public education
- social services
- colleges and institutes
- universities
- crown corporations, agencies and commissions.
In May 1994, BCPSEA was formed. On June 7, the Public Education Labour Relations Act (PELRA) was passed, which established BCPSEA as the accredited bargaining agent for all school boards and the BCTF as the certified bargaining agent for all public school teachers in the province. PELRA also established the scope of teacher bargaining, with all cost provisions to be negotiated at the provincial level, such as salaries and benefits.
In September 1996, a question arose as to whether BCPSEA’s accreditation also covered support staff. On July 29, 1998, the Public Education Labour Relations Act was amended to affirm BCPSEA’s accreditation status relating to support staff.
BCPSEA now operates as a full service employers’ association for the K-12 sector.
What We Do
Representatives from the 60 boards of education elect seven school trustees, on a regional basis, to the Board of Directors. They are joined by four government representatives appointed by the Minister responsible for the Public Sector Employers Act.
The purposes of BCPSEA, as prescribed by the Public Sector Employers Act, are:
- to coordinate the following amongst its members:
i. collective bargaining objectives
ii. compensation for employees who are not subject to collective agreements
iii. benefit administration
iv. human resource practices - to foster consultation between the Association and representatives of the employees of its members
- to assist the Public Sector Employers’ Council, established under the Public Sector Employers Act, in carrying out any objectives and strategic directions established by the Public Sector Employers’ Council
- to act as accredited bargaining agent for the Association’s members, as prescribed by the Public Education Labour Relations Act
As a way of facilitating these responsibilities, BCPSEA (along with the other employers’ associations in the public sector) is a member of the Public Sector Employers’ Council (PSEC), established by the provincial government to provide a link between the government and public sector bodies on compensation and other human resource management issues.