Last month, the Mediation Services department of Alberta Jobs, Economy, and Trade published the September–October 2024 Bargaining Update.
This monthly report provides information about the unionized workforce, primarily in Alberta. In the months of September and October, Mediation Services received settlement information regarding 36 private sector and 31 public sector bargaining settlements, covering 3,408 and 4,855 workers respectively.
Among those settlements was a contract for over 200 maintenance workers employed by the Edmonton School Division.
These workers are represented by Local 784 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
They include carpenters, electricians, locksmiths, machinists, painters, roofers, plumbers, mechanics, sheet metal workers, and other trades workers.
Their previous contract actually expired in August 2020. The new contract was settled back in February, 3.5 years later, but Mediation Services received it only recently.
These workers will get two small wage increases.
| 1 September 2020 | 0.00% |
| 1 September 2021 | 0.00% |
| 1 September 2022 | 0.00% |
| 1 June 2023 | 1.25% |
| 1 February 2024 | 1.50% |
This works out to a combined wage of 2.75% over the the life of the 4-year contract. That averages out to 0.69% per year.
These are the first wage increases these workers have received since 2019. And that itself was preceded by two years of wage freezes.
So, to summarize:
| 1 September 2017 | 0.00% |
| 1 September 2018 | 0.00% |
| 1 September 2019 | 1.25% |
| 1 September 2020 | 0.00% |
| 1 September 2021 | 0.00% |
| 1 September 2022 | 0.00% |
| 1 June 2023 | 1.25% |
| 1 February 2024 | 1.50% |
These workers have received a 4% wage increase over the last 8 years.
Clearly, 5 years of wage freezes means these workers have seen their real wages—wages adjusted for inflation—drop during this time.
Inflation between September 2016 and September 2024 increased by 25.06%.
Seriously, inflation grew more than 6 times faster than their wages did. I guess it’s better than more wage freezes though.
Now, this isn’t the fault of the workers. Nor is it the fault with the school board. The fault lies explicitly with the UCP government, which has been trying to control negotiations between public sector workers and their employers.
According to Local 784, “any monetary agreement made by the School Board and the Union has to be approved by the Provincial Bargaining and Compensation Office”. And the PBCO rarely approves such changes.
In other words, the school board’s hands are effectively tied.
Here are some highlights of other changes between the new contract and their previous contract.
The new contract has introduced a “respectful working environment” clause, calling for workplaces to be free from discrimination and harassment.
Under the previous contract, workers could bank only up to 2 vacation bonus days. That has increased to 3 in the new contract.
Two more holidays have been added to the list of public holidays—Citizen’s Day (the fourth Wednesday of July) and the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation—bringing the total public holidays to 14.
Parenting-related leave increased in the new contract:
| Old | New | |
|---|---|---|
| Maternity leave | 15 weeks | 16 weeks |
| Parental leave | 37 weeks | 62 weeks |
| Adoption leave | 52 weeks | 62 weeks |
As well, maternity leave can begin 13 weeks before the estimated date of delivery, up from 12 weeks in the previous contract.
Domestic violence leave of up to 10 unpaid working days has been added to the contract. There was no such leave in the previous contract.
Hours of work has shifted from 08:00–16:30 to 07:30–16:00.
Shift premiums will be frozen at $2.32 an hour for the first 3 years of the contract, then increase to $2.35 an hour as of 1 June 2023 and $2.39 an hour as of 1 February 2024.
Same goes for premiums for performance of higher duties: frozen for the first 3 years then increases in the final two.
| Freezes | Jun 2023 | Feb 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working charge hand | $1.66 | $1.68 | $1.71 |
| Assistant foreperson | $3.24 | $3.28 | $3.33 |
| Senior foreperson | $1.54 | $1.56 | $1.58 |
The retirement allowance will be frozen at 2019 rates until 2023, when it will increase 1.25%. It will increase a further 1.50% in 2024.
Oh, and because it took over 3 years to negotiate, this new contract has already expired, with the end date being in August 2024. They had a brand new contract for less than 5 months.
That means the bargaining team got very little time to recover from an exhausting and frustrating round of negotiations before having to start the process again on the new contract.
