The province has reached a tentative agreement with thousands of health-care support workers.

The deal covers approximately 21,700 health-care support workers employed in a variety of community settings, such as private homes, group homes, residential community living homes, supported employment programs, child development centres, adult day programs, mental-health centres, community service agencies and health authorities throughout B.C.

The province says community health workers are employed to provide home-support services through contracted agencies and directly for the Province's health authorities.

Details about the agreement will be available after the ratification process for the union members and the health employees is complete.

More than 500,000 people work across the provincial public sector - of those, approximately 393,000 are unionized employees paid under collective agreements or professionals paid through negotiated compensation agreements.