Negotiations are underway on new collective bargaining agreements (CBA) for both the city’s unionized employees and its police force.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 726, which represents the unionized employees, has held two meetings with Estevan city council regarding the CBA. Also, the Estevan Police Association (EPA), which represents the city’s police officers, has started talks with the Estevan Board of Police Commissioners.
The current CBAs for both CUPE and the EPA expire Dec. 31.
Council and CUPE met for the first time on Dec. 7, and they were slated to meet again on Dec. 15. Mayor Roy Ludwig and CUPE local president Glenys Berg were pleased with the tone of the first meeting, which they characterized as cordial.
“We feel confident we can reach a collective agreement with CUPE in the not-to-distant future,” said Ludwig.
Berg echoed Ludwig’s belief that the negotiations could be finished in a fairly prompt fashion.
“It seems that we’re both headed in the same direction,” said Berg, who is involved with negotiations for the first time, and is admittedly facing a steep learning curve, since she has been president for just over a month.
Ludwig said the first meeting was dedicated to discussing the language of the new CBA. Wages were not brought to the table. The two sides will typically discuss the non-monetary issues before discussing salary increases.
“There’s always language to tidy up, and to keep the collective agreement current, you always have to update the OH&S (occupational health and safety) regulations, and any of the regulations that may have been updated as far as labour standards go, so we like to incorporate that into the collective agreement moving forward,” said Ludwig.
Berg didn’t divulge the wage increase CUPE was looking for, but she does expect wages will be the biggest sticking point in the talks.
“There are a few factors that play into all the negotiations, so I’m sure that between the two groups, we can come up with something we can both be happy with,” she said.
Ludwig expects it will be a three-year contract. CUPE’s current deal is also a three-year pact.
Berg is hopeful the new CBA could be reached before the end of the year.
“Both sides are really looking forward to cleaning up the city, and making it a better place for everybody,” said Berg.
The police board and the EPA met for the first time on Dec. 2, and are scheduled to meet again on Dec. 16. Ludwig is optimistic that those negotiations will also move forward in a positive fashion, and they will wrap up fairly quickly.
Much like CUPE, Ludwig said their first job will be to update the CBA language, and then they will discuss wages.
The mayor believes these initial meetings reflect a healthier relationship between council and CUPE, and the police board and the EPA. He has been involved with numerous negotiations with both unions since he joined council in 1994.
“I believe that the negotiations, as we continue, appear to me to be more positive, with more communication,” said Ludwig. “The tone at the negotiations for both sides, for both city and police, tend to be more positive and more amiable, and that’s a good thing.”
