The 1,149 unionized ICBC employees who work in North Vancouver will receive a six per cent raise over five years under a newly ratified five-year collective agreement.
There is also the potential for additional wage increases if the B.C. economy exceeds the annual forecasts set by the Economic Forecast Council during the last four years of the agreements, said David Black, president of COPE 378, which represents the unionized employees, in an emailed statement.
The majority of the unionized employees in North Vancouver are stationed at ICBC’s head office on Esplanade Avenue, while others work in various areas of ICBC’s operations, including claims centres and driver licensing.
One of the big issues at ICBC is workload, according to COPE 378 vice-president Annette Toth. The new agreement, said Toth, commits ICBC to begin a study of caseload in the claims division by July 1, with Phase 2 of the study to start by January 2017.
“This agreement allows us to improve benefits for current employees as well as retirees, improve moving expenses eligibility for members outside the Lower Mainland, and institutes better language around job evaluation and the Joint Occupational Health and Safety and Environment Committee,” stated Toth in the same email.
