The city and its unionized employees of CUPE Local 1048 and CUPE Local 399 have ratified a new four-year collective agreement.
The agreement, which was approved by council prior to a vote last week by membership, covers nearly 600 City staff. The term of the agreement extends from January 1, 2017 through to December 31, 2020.
“We were able to reach a fair and equitable collective agreement with the City of Prince George, without the need to bring in outside parties,” said Kelly Boudreau, President of CUPE local 1048, in a press release. “This is a perfect example of what can happen, when everyone involved negotiates in a respectful manner, with reasonable expectations.”
As per the new agreement, wage increases will be as follows:
- two per cent in 2017
- 1.5 per cent in 2018
- 1.5 per cent in 2019
- 1.75 per cent in 2020
These increases are consistent with other municipal settlements throughout the province and are aligned with inflation, according to the city. Changes to the agreement also include the streamlining of provisions to ease administrative processes and to provide further clarification of the language.
“The city staff covered by this agreement perform a wide range of tasks and services in support of the community including parks, utility, and road maintenance, bylaw enforcement, recreation services, building inspections, and administrative support to police and fire services,” said Mayor Lyn Hall. “Council thanks all staff for their continuing hard work on behalf of residents. We are also pleased that City management and the CUPE negotiating teams settled this new contract in a respectful, smooth, and efficient manner to the benefit of the community.”
CUPE Local 1048 represents 398 inside employees and CUPE Local 399 represents 195 outside employees.