The City has settled with 63 workers who are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
The deal will see employees, mainly those within the public works, parks and water departments, receive an average 1.78 per cent wage increase annually for the four years of the contract.
The City’s 120 non-unionized employees will also get the pay raise.
“This is a good agreement for both the employees and the city,” said Mayor Bob Maloney. “Negotiations took place with a long term perspective in mind and a new wage scale based on competencies has been established. It will allow employees to progress in their careers with more emphasis on capability.”
City manager Lonnie Kaal explained the new scale Maloney mentioned means there has been an adjustment that brings more pay equity among certain positions that are unrelated, but require similar levels of skill and certification. In practice, some professions will see a larger than average increase while others get a smaller percentage.
Kaal said she is very pleased the City and union were able to not only come to an agreement, but deal with this issue within a very in-depth negotiation process.
Wes Laube, outgoing president of the local, said the union was more or less satisfied.
“It’s a fair deal, especially in this negotiating environment,” he said, citing the economic downturn.
Laube would not give a percentage of the membership that voted for the contract, but said it was significantly better than the required 50 per cent plus one.
The employees have been without a contract since January 1 of this year. The pay will be retroactive. Kaal said more than half of that had already been factored into the 2016 budget and the rest will fit comfortably within the existing framework.
Maloney was especially pleased that the deal was for four years.
“Any time you can get a four-year deal at a reasonable price, that’s a good thing,” the mayor said.
