Minimum two per cent increases over life of contract: CUPE
Workers with the City of Powell River, B.C., represented by Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 798, ratified a new five-year agreement on April 30 following six days of bargaining.
“The members of CUPE 798 are not just employees of the city,” said Dave Formosa, mayor. “They are our families, friends and neighbours. The brief time it took to come to a fair and satisfactory agreement underscores the partnership we have, and the commitment to the city and its citizens that we share. I think that says a lot about Powell River.”
The new collective agreement comes with wage increases of two per cent per year for the first four years and a two- and one-half per cent increase in 2023, the final year of the contract. The parties also agreed on a range of improvements for part-time employees, benefits improvements and a conversion process to address precarious work, said the union.
“Providing for the conversion of part-time workers into full-time workers means more local residents can afford to stay in Powell River and don’t have to move away for work,” said Graham Tonks, CUPE 798 president.
CUPE is Canada’s largest union with more than 680,000 members coast-to-coast, and 97,000 here in B.C. CUPE 798 represents 220 workers at the City of Powell River, the Powell River Public Library and the qathet Regional District.
