Prince Albert inside city workers reject tentative agreement on Tuesday | 24CA News
CUPE 882 members representing inside staff on the City of Prince Albert voted to reject the town’s tentative settlement Tuesday night.
“We believe that we have to start this whole thing over because we haven’t been negotiated with in good faith,” stated Cara Stelmaschuk, vice-president of CUPE 882.
The staff went on strike on Sept. 11 after failed negotiations with the town. The service withdrawal has impacted service ranges at City Hall, EA Rawlinson Centre for the Arts, Frank Dunn Pool, Alfred Jenkins Field House and the Art Hauser Centre.
The union additionally eliminated its coaching of administration and contractors and refused to look at the costume code.
A tentative deal was launched on Sept. 29.
“We were final offered with a four-year offer of 11 per cent,” Stelmaschuk stated. “We said we would accept 12 per cent and that was our offer to settle it and they said, ‘No, 11 per cent is what you can take back to your membership.’”
The metropolis added eyecare protection and an optionally available household help plan for informal or part-time workers to the provide however didn’t increase the proportion.
Stelmaschuk stated that a number of crossroads have postponed the vote on the tentative settlement over the previous few months.
“We were in a meeting to negotiate an agreement to return to work and we were informed that they would be changing a few jobs around, creating a call centre that would affect four of our clerks in three different departments. They would basically be losing a full-time assistant as far as their administration goes.”
She stated the union informed the town to withdraw the decision centre proposal or negotiate on the contract, or union members would proceed to strike.
Some 81 per cent of the union voted towards the settlement.
“We are still on the picket line,” Stelmaschuk stated. “Our offer is no longer on the table. That was a long time ago and a lot has happened since then.”
She stated staff are most adamant about demanding wage will increase.
“People are watching minimum wage creep up and they have been working for the city for a long time and just happen to have casual hours so they aren’t hitting 40 hours a week, but they deserve to be above minimum wage for what they do and what they know — we are talking about lifeguards.”
The union’s bargaining committee stated it will likely be reaching out to the town and to government director of labour relations, Kristin Anderson, to set new bargaining dates.
Global News has reached out to the City of Prince Albert for remark.
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