Cenovus workers ratify their first contract

Last month, the Mediation Services department of Alberta Jobs, Economy, and Trade published the June 2025 Bargaining Update.

This monthly report provides information about the unionized workforce, primarily in Alberta. In June, Mediation Services received settlement information regarding 29 private sector and 18 public sector bargaining settlements, covering 12,522 and 2,253 workers respectively.

Among those settlements was a contract for about 65 workers employed by Cenovus Energy.

Local 658A of Unifor represents these workers, which include all workers at Cenovus’s refinery in Lloydminster, except for anyone in clerical or superivsory roles or any professionals working in a technical capacity.

This is their first negotiated contract. The Alberta Labour Relations Board certified these workers as a bargaining unit in February 2022.

The contract was ratified in December 2023, but the ALRB received it only recently. It was retroactive to February 2023, a year after they became unionized, and will run until next January.

The workers were set to receive wage increases in each year of the new contract, except for the first year. After all, first-year wages will act as a base wages, off of which future wages will be based.

1 February 2023	—
1 February 2024	3.50%
1 February 2025	3.50%

This will result in a combined increase of 7% over the life of the collective agreement. That averages out to, well, 3.5% per year.

By the end of the contract, hourly wages will range from $28.72 for summer student workers to $70.47 for senior operators and journey-level tradesworkers.

Here are some highlights of other things that are in this first contract.

Bereavement leave is up to 4 days of paid leave for immediate family, which the contract defines as spouse (including common-law); children and parents (including step and in-laws), siblings (including in laws), grandchildren, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and niblings.

Birth and adoption leave is 2 days paid leave for the birth or adoption of their child.

Vacation time will depend on length of time with the company:

Length of employment	Length of vacation
< 10 years	3 weeks
10–18 years	4 weeks
18–25 years	5 weeks
25+ years	6 weeks

Plus, those working less than 18 years can bank 1 of their vacation weeks into the next year, but only every other year. Those working at least 18 years can bank up to 2 weeks. Vacation time will be paid out if their employment is ever terminated.

The work week is 37.3 hours for all unionized workers except those assigned to the maintenance department, who will work 37.6 hours.

Overtime is twice their regular pay rate.

If workers show up to a scheduled shift, but there is no work for them to do and the employer never tried to notify them, they will be guaranteed either 2 hours worth of pay or 4 hours of work and their base pay rate.

Workers who are called back in to work after their scheduled shift ended are guaranteed either 4 hours pay of double time for all hours worked, whichever is greater. If this happens after midnight, then it is 6 hours instead of 4 hours.

If a worker is called into work an unscheduled shift between midnight and 04:00, they do not need to report for a regularly scheduled shift before 8 hours have passed since they finished their early morning shift.

Workers who must work at least two hours past the end of when their shift was scheduled to end are entitled to a meal. If they have to work an additional 4 hours, they will be entitled to a second meal. The meal allowance is a maximum of $20.

Full-time, regular workers will be entitled to the following 12 holidays, which will be used to determine stat holiday pay.

• New Year’s Day
• Family Day
• Good Friday
• Victoria Day
• Canada Day
• First Monday in August (civic holiday)
• Labour Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Remembrance Day
• Christmas Day
• Boxing Day
• Floating holiday

Works on jury duty leave will receive regular pay for their scheduled shift.