Mayor Ames Leslie, centre, with CAO Ash Alam. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Angela Brown

Negotiations wrap up

Town of Battleford approves new collective agreement with CUPE Local union for five-year term

Feb 18, 2021 | 11:17 AM

Municipal workers in Battleford have a new five-year collective agreement.

The Town of Battleford council gave its approval for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3003 collective agreement with the town discussing a five-year term at council’s meeting this week.

Chief administrative officer Ash Alam had recommended council approve the CUPE Local 3003 Collective Agreement for the term from January, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2024, and for Mayor Ames Leslie and Alam to be authorized to sign the necessary documents.

“We do have a signed MOA [Memorandum of Agreement] that is included in the package, to give us the ability to accept [the agreement] as the council of the Town of Battleford,” Leslie said.

According to Alam’s report, the town’s bargaining negotiation committee; Alam, Leslie, and Councillor Judy Pruden, met with the CUPE Local 3003 bargaining committee on Dec. 1, Dec. 8 and Jan. 22 for the negotiation of the collective agreement. After listening to the Local 3003 committee members’ requests, valuing the town’s employees’ needs and recommendations, the town’s and union’s committees came to an agreement.

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The agreement reflects the following pay increases for the town’s CUPE staff: one per cent for Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2020; one per cent for Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2021; 1.5 per cent for 2022; 1.5 per cent for 2023; and two per cent for 2024.

The contract includes extended health, vision and dental benefits of 100 per cent.

The CAO indicated the increase of the premium was already budgeted for in the town’s 2021 budget.

Increases in compensation and benefits negotiated by the parties are to be applied retroactively to Jan. 1, 2020.

Leslie is pleased with the outcome of the negotiations.

“The bargaining unit did a very professional job to represent the employees. They were able to meet a lot of the requests of their employees. The town was able to win a few small victories as well…,” he said. “It was a great couple months of negotiations.”

Pruden is also glad to see the negotiations concluded.

“I’m happy it has gone this way, and that it is done. We worked hard on quite a few meetings,” she said.

The CUPE Local 3003 union voted successfully on Feb. 17 to accept and ratify the offer from the town.

CUPE national representative Will Bauer, who has been assigned as a representative for CUPE Local 3003, said the union members are satisfied with the agreement.

“I think generally the membership was pleased with the results from this round of collective bargaining,” he said. “There were some improvements with respect to the benefit plan, and the benefits premiums. So we are looking forward to the members reaping those results of the improvements that were made.”

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW