Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 798, representing City of Powell River workers, and the city, have reached agreement on a five-year deal.
The agreement features wage increases of two per cent per year for the first four years of the contract and a two-and-a-half per cent increase of the final year of the contract.
CUPE 798 president Graham Tonks said negotiations concluded on April 10 and were ratified on April 19.
“I think both sides are quite happy with the result,” said Tonks. “Our members are happy with the long-term security.”
Tonks said the union went to the table hoping for a fair deal from the city and was able to achieve that.
In addition to the wage increases, Tonks said there were some improvements to benefits and improvements for part-time workers.
Mayor Dave Formosa was also pleased that an agreement has been reached.
“The amount we’ve negotiated is very much within the average of other municipalities, “said Formosa. “We were able to get some wins on certain languages that were making certain parts of our job difficult between the two parties.”
Formosa said he has been serving on City of Powell River Council for 11 years and in the negotiations in which he has participated, CUPE 798 has been very understanding. He said both sides have worked to be respectful of each other in the bargaining process.
The union, in past contracts, has taken zero per cent increases in some years, or one per cent increases, when unions in other municipalities were receiving higher increases, said Formosa. He added that the city could not expect to continue going into the negotiations with zero or one per cent increases.
“We needed to step up and give our team the average that was happening out there,” said Formosa. “I’m thankful it was a quick negotiation. We strove not to spend six months or a year negotiating, like happens in many cases.
“We had a five-year deal last time that was two years behind, so we had three years without negotiations, because two years were backdated. This year we started negotiating right on time and got it done within three weeks and we’ve got five years ahead of us. We can plan and I think what was done was fair and equitable for all parties.”
Formosa said he is thankful that CUPE gave the city breaks during past years when the city was struggling financially.
“They helped us weather some storms,” said Formosa.
While there are financial struggles ahead, there is certainty and stability with the CUPE contract for the next five years, according to the mayor.
