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The City of Prince Albert has rejected the latest offer from CUPE 882, meaning the union is now on strike.
In a media release, the union representing city workers said it presented a solid proposal to the city.
“We put forward a reasonable offer which we believed would be a good starting point for re-opening discussions,” said CUPE national representative Mira Lewis. “However, on Sunday afternoon, the employer rejected the union’s latest offer and continues to refuse to negotiate with us.”
Union workers hit the picket lines Monday morning, marking the first strike in the union’s 70-year history.
Union vice-president Cara Stelmaschuk was on the line early Monday morning.
“This is very disappointing that we’re here at this point,” she said. “But at the same time, we do feel it’s important that people understand the value that we provide to the City of Prince Albert. These are the people that provide a lot of services … that our city council and the mayor have staked their reputations on. They make promises to the community, and we’re the ones that follow through with the services that they get elected on.”
Employees have been on various stages of work-to-rule action since Aug. 10, including refusing to train and abide by dress code policies.
The CUPE release stated that wages are still the major issue for members, as some are barely making minimum wage.
“We know that recruitment and retention are an issue for the city,” said Stelmaschuk. “Improving wages and working conditions is the only way to address this issue.”
(Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)
The City of Prince Albert has stood firm on its position that it can not offer more than an 11 per cent wage increase over four years, stating that it’s the highest increase among major cities in Saskatchewan. The city said bumping that increase up to 12 per cent, which the union is asking for, would require a significant increase to property taxes.
CUPE 882 refuted those remarks in its release, providing a number of agreements made with other communities like Wakaw, Biggar, Watrous and Kindersley, showing their agreements had more than an 11-per-cent increase for workers.
Lewis and the rest of CUPE 882 are hopeful the city will return to the bargaining table soon.
“A deal cannot be reached without both sides talking to each other,” Lewis said.
The City of Prince Albert confirmed to paNOW on Friday that secretaries, accounting clerks, planners, technologists, recreation programmers, lifeguards, and concession workers are among the positions that will be affected by the strike. However, the city said disruptions to services will be minimal as the city has backup plans in place.