The B.C. Ministry of Finance issued a news release Nov. 9 announcing an Economic Stability Dividend general wage increase of 0.40 per cent in 2018.
The Economic Stability Dividend was part of the Liberal mandate from the last round of public sector collective bargaining. To activate the dividend, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for British Columbia must exceed forecasts set for the year. In that case, a wage increase of 50% of the difference will be applied to the following year’s scheduled wage increase.
As reported by the CBC “The government says Statistics Canada confirms British Columbia’s economy grew by 3.5 per cent in 2016, exceeding last February’s forecast of 2.7 per cent, provided by the Economic Forecast Council.” Thus, unionized public sector workers will receive 1/2 of the extra 0.8% growth.
Sessional instructors will see the dividend take effect on March 1 and Components 1 and 2 (with the exception of Residence Life workers) will receive the dividend on starting on July 1. The 0.4% will be on top of the scheduled March 1/July 1 1.0% general wage increase.