CRD workers and the employer have ratified a tentative agreement.
The BC General Employees Union (BCGEU) says the agreement will run from November 1, 2023 to October 31, 2026 and includes a total wage increase of 12.5%, an increase to the maximum vacation entitlement, fairer call-back language, and other improvements.
Paul Finch, President of the BCGEU, which represents CRD workers, says it was a tough round of bargaining.
“We got a good result here, ratified by 64 percent in favour, so it gives you an idea of where people are on it. It was a really tough round of negotiations. It took 5 weeks on strike just to force the employer to come back to the bargaining table and it took another 1 1/2 weeks to get a deal once we did, so obviously that’s difficult.”
The union was asking for a wage increase that was tied to inflation.
We asked Finch if he as disappointed that they couldn’t achieve that.
“Yes it’s unfortunate we couldn’t tie directly to inflation, but we also recognized that we were very pragmatic about the environment we were in. We knew what both Williams Lake and Quesnel had recently settled for. We knew where was an environment of settlement going on, and the amount that we did settle for was 1 1/2 percent above the employer’s last offer.”
Finch noted that will have to look at where they are against inflation at the end of this contract after it expires in 2026.
The deal covers 109 employees.
Workers in Quesnel, Williams Lake and 100 Mile House went on strike back on May 13th.
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