Following negotiations that were described as amicable by both sides, the City of Estevan and members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 726 have agreed to a new three-year contract.
Under terms of the deal, City workers will receive a four per cent raise in the first year, a 3.5 per cent hike in the second and three per cent in the final year.
Mayor Roy Ludwig said he was very happy with how the negotiations went, describing them as professional. As for the wage increase, Ludwig said the 10.5 per cent increase over the three years was a figure that council was comfortable with.
"We have been having issues getting (employees) so I think we are now up to the point where we are now competitive in the City of Estevan area and hopefully we can attract good people and not have to wait months to fill positions as had been the case," Ludwig said.
"The biggest issue for us was getting trained people like grader operators and heavy equipment operators then they would go to the mine or (SaskPower) or other areas. We are hoping now that we are to the point that with the monies we have on the back page we should be able to attract and keep people. We have a great pension, probably second to none, so now that we are getting the wages closer, if people look at the whole package it should prove to be fairly attractive, even in a demanding market."
Tim Anderson, a staff representative for CUPE, handled the negotiations for Local 726 and concurred with Ludwig's characterization of the process. He added both sides went in with a number of important issues and feels they were all addressed to the satisfaction of the parties involved.
"It was extremely focused on the issues which was a nice change," Anderson said. "We've agreed to have union-management meetings on a regular basis. Some of our issues are job security and contracting out. We believe that as municipal employees we deliver a very good product for a very reasonable price. We want to have those discussions with the employer in terms of what we can to maybe bring some work that is contracted out back in house and explore the options that give the employer some flexibility in terms of recruitment, retention, training those types of things."
Anderson, who is based in CUPE's Regina office, added that he came away from this collective bargaining process very impressed with the local employees and said they are committed to making Estevan a better place to live and work.
"I believe municipal employees really care about the city they live in. I know it sounds kind of corny, but really it is neighbours working for neighbours," he said. "In my short exposure to the membership, there are some very dedicated civic employees that really want Estevan to thrive and just be a community to call home.
"I found the City was open to a lot of things and hopefully through our labour-management meetings we are going to have the opportunity to explore some things from our perspective and, no doubt, they are going to have some things they are going to want to explore from their perspective."
With the CUPE contract locked in until the end of 2015, the City will now get to work on negotiating a new deal with the Estevan Police Association.
Ludwig said their preliminary talks have all been positive and he expects the bargaining to begin in earnest in September.
