LSBC lawyers, paralegals, officers vote in favour of job action over wages, benefits for new members

Paralegals, officers joined union after Legal Professions Act passed, say benefits are less than lawyers

LSBC lawyers, paralegals, officers vote in favour of job action over wages, benefits for new members
Brett Harper is the lead negotiator for the Professional Employees Association.

Lawyers, paralegals, and officers at the Law Society of British Columbia have voted overwhelmingly in favour of job action, which could include a strike after their union reached an impasse with the LSBC over wages and whether to fold paralegals and officers into the same benefits structure as lawyers.

Ninety-three percent of the bargaining unit voted in favour of job action on Wednesday, with 91 percent of members participating in the vote.

The Professional Employees Association represents the 80-person bargaining unit at the LSBC. It consists of 50 lawyers and 30 paralegals and officers.

Brett Harper, senior labour relations officer and lead negotiator for the PEA, told Canadian Lawyer on Thursday that job action can include a wide range of measures. Examples include work-to-rule, where workers only do the bare minimum required, or an overtime ban, which bars workers from engaging in overtime work.

It can also escalate to “full picket lines,” Harper says.

“I would say everything is on the table at this point in terms of what we're considering,” he says. “We haven't ruled anything out at this point.”

Harper adds that the union must give the LSBC 72 hours’ notice before undertaking any job action.

The workers' vote comes amid a legal battle between the LSBC and the provincial government over the Legal Professions Act, a law that passed last May that will replace the BC Law Society with a single regulatory body overseeing lawyers, paralegals, and notaries.

The LSBC filed a lawsuit to challenge the law, arguing it was unconstitutional and compromised the bar's independence. However, when the BC Supreme Court rejected an injunction request by the LSBC, which aimed to stop the province from implementing the law, LSBC benchers were forced to appoint members to a transitional board for the new regulatory body.

Harper says LSBC paralegals and officers joined the bargaining unit with the PEA in two phases last year, citing the passing of the Legal Professions Act as “one of the driving issues” behind the moves.

“The paralegals and the officers at the law society wanted representation by the union,” he says. “Especially with the BC Legal Professions Act, they found themselves… more in line with the lawyers at the law society, and so they wanted to join that collective agreement.”

However, Harper says that since joining the union, paralegals and officers have not had the same access to benefits as lawyers. The LSBC currently has what Harper calls a “two-tiered” arrangement with workers, where lawyers have better access to retirement, benefits, and vacation entitlements than paralegals or officers.

The union also wants to bring compensation for LSBC workers in line with other provincial organizations, Harper says.

The LSBC and the PEA started bargaining on November 4, but the parties reached an impasse last week. Harper says the union hopes job action will spur the LSBC to return to the bargaining table.

“The strike vote results show that the union members at the law society overwhelmingly support job action, and that demonstrates strength and unity and determination to secure a fair contract,” he says.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the LSBC said the law society has not yet received a strike notice or details regarding potential job action from the union. 

"The law society remains committed to reaching a fair and reasonable agreement with the PEA through collective bargaining, including the current mediation process, and looks forward to continuing negotiations," the statement said. "The law society values the contributions of all staff members and regularly conducts compensation benchmarking to ensure salaries and benefits are in alignment with market standards. We continue to comply fully with all the terms of the collective agreement."

The spokesperson added, "Should a strike or other job action occur, the law society is committed to ensuring that services remain available to the public and the profession."

Editor's Note: This story has been updated with comments from the LSBC.