Bargaining Process

Regional Bargaining Conferences

The NBA bargaining process kicked off with a series of regional bargaining conferences held across the province from October 2024 to January 2025. These two-day conferences played a crucial role in gathering NBA members’ top priorities.

This year, BCNU grouped the regional conferences by health authority, aiming to bring members together, foster collaboration across regions, and discuss regional challenges along with potential solutions to common concerns.

Delegates were elected or selected at these conferences to represent their regions at the provincial bargaining conference in February 2025, ensuring that the voices of nurses from across the province helped shape the overall bargaining strategy.

Regional Bargaining Conference Recap

The regional bargaining conferences took place as follows:

• Oct. 28-29, 2024: East Kootenay, West Kootenay, Okanagan Similkameen, Thompson N. Okanagan (Penticton)
• Dec. 9-10, 2024: Vancouver Metro, Shaughnessy Heights (Burnaby)
• Dec. 11-12, 2024: Fraser Valley, Simon Fraser, South Fraser Valley (Surrey)
• Jan. 7-8, 2025: Central Vancouver, Coastal Mountain, Richmond Vancouver (Vancouver)
• Jan. 9-10, 2025: Pacific Rim, South Islands (Nanaimo)
• Jan. 23-24, 2025: North East, North West (Vancouver)
• Jan. 27, 2025: Human Rights & Equity (Virtual)

Provincial Bargaining Conference

The provincial bargaining conference took place on Feb. 26-27, 2025, at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver, located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples.

At the provincial conference, delegates reviewed and identified the priorities for bargaining. Elections were held for representatives of two important committees:

• Provincial Bargaining Committee: Leads contract negotiations with the employer.
• Provincial Job Action Committee (PJAC): Develops and coordinates strategies for job action if needed to apply pressure during bargaining.

The strength of our bargaining efforts relies on the collective engagement of nurses across the province. Through unity and collective action, we build the power necessary to secure better agreements and protect the rights and protections that are vital for our work and patient care.