Yukon to hike minimum wage / B.C. teachers could strike / Health care staffers in Saskatchewan ink new contract
Minimum wage rising in the Yukon
IQALUIT — The minimum wage in the Yukon is rising on April 1 by 18 cents an hour.
It will rise from $10.54 to $10.72 per hour. The minimum wage in the territory is calculated in accordance with the consumer price index (CPI) for Whitehorse, and is adjusted every April 1.
The government said the Fair Wage paid to people working on government-tendered construction contracts will also increase on April 1 — by 1.7 per cent — across all four wage categories.
B.C. Teachers’ Federation calls for a strike vote
VANCOUVER — The B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) has called for a strike vote.
The vote is a push back against what the union calls "major concession demands, an unfair salary offer, and a deliberately confrontational attempt to reverse the recent B.C. Supreme Court decision on class size, composition, and staffing levels."
More than 40 sessions at the table and a full year of bargaining have brought the union and the provincial government no closer to reaching a deal.
"Teachers care deeply about our schools, our students and our communities," said BCTF president Jim Iker. "We don’t take a strike vote lightly. However, this government seems incapable or unwilling to let the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) negotiate fairly with teachers."
Iker said the government — through BCPSEA — continues to act in bad faith.
"For 12 years teachers have worked to defend our rights, our working conditions, and our students’ learning conditions," he said. "And once again we find ourselves facing a government focused only on confrontation."
According to the union, BCPSEA’s offer would see teachers in the province go without a wage increase for another two years, despite other public-sector workers recently receiving increases of as much as four per cent.
The strike vote will take place on March 4, 5 and 6, 2014. Once the vote is taken, BCTF will have 90 days to activate a form of labour action.
"We will consider all job action options and ti n EDUCATION ming very carefully," Iker said. "Our goal is to reach a negotiated deal at the bargaining table without having to resort to job action."
Health care staffers in Saskatchewan pen new contract
REGINA — Health care workers in Saskatchewan ratified a new collective agreement with the government last week, solidifying major improvements to their working conditions, according to the union.
On Feb. 28, the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees Union (SGEU) — affiliated with the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) — signed a new deal on behalf of health care providers, who had been without a contract since 2012.
As part of the five-year agreement, employees will receive an 8.5 per cent wage increase, along with additional premium improvements.
The union also negotiated enhancements to shift and weekend differentials, standby pay, monthly car allowances and professional fees for workers, as well as made improvements to the overall language in the latest contract.
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) were also involved at the bargaining table.
