VICTORIA – Front-line ministry social workers in hard-to-recruit areas of the province, including Clearwater, will receive an additional $3,000 to $6,000 per year, thanks to a new agreement between government and the BC Government and Service Employees Union (BCGEU).
The agreement provides a $6,000 annual lump-sum payment to senior ministry social workers and a $3,000 annual payment to ministry social workers with less than two years of experience, who live and work in rural or remote communities with demonstrated recruitment and retention challenges.
The list of MCFD-designated hard-to-recruit communities includes: Bella Coola, Waglisla/Bella Bella, Golden, Invermere, Nakusp, Burns Lake, Fort St. James, Mackenzie, McBride, Vanderhoof, Chetwynd, Fort Nelson, Port Hardy, Dease Lake, Hazelton, Kitimat, Prince Rupert, Queen Charlotte, Smithers, Terrace, Princeton, 100 Mile House, Ashcroft, Clearwater, Lillooet, Merritt, Revelstoke and Williams Lake.
The first payments under the new incentive program will be made to eligible regular ministry employees in April 2017. Location-specific incentive pay is virtually unique in the B.C. civil service.
