2018 Wage Increase Announced Due to ESD

2018 Wage Increase Announced Due to ESD

FSA members will see an additional pay increase of 0.4% on May 1, 2018 as a result of the Economic Stability Dividend (ESD) negotiated in the last round of bargaining. This increase will be in addition to the 1% negotiated increase already scheduled for May 1, 2018 and the 0.5% negotiated increase on July 1, 2018.

This is the third year in a row that the ESD has factored into salary increases, adding 0.35% last year. The ESD is not a bonus paid out one time but an on-going increase in wages. The ESD is triggered annually if BC’s actual economic growth exceeds the rate of growth anticipated by the provincial government’s Economic Forecast Council, with half of the percentage difference being applied to wages. Because economic performance exceeded expectations by 0.8%, public service collective agreements will see an increase of 0.4%.

Keep in mind that BC’s Economic Forecast Council makes projections for economic growth and not for inflation. While provincially mandated wage increases will total 1.9% in 2018, this amount should be compared with the rates of inflation forecast by RBC, BMO, the OECD, and the Bank of Canada, which range from 1.7% to 2.1%. Our increases have not kept pace with the rate of inflation for several years.

The FSA will work with the employer to update salary scales based on the new increase.