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MD Pincher Creek workers get 12% raise

The workers had been waiting since last December for a new contract.

In the August 2023 Bargaining Update released earlier this month, Alberta’s jobs, economy, and northern development ministry indicated that a new collective agreement for municipal workers in the Pincher Creek area had been reached.

Settled on 22 August 2023, the new agreement is between the Municipal District of Pincher Creek and Local 927 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

These workers—which include labourers, utility operators, mechanics, welders, and seasonal workers—had been working on an old contract that had expired at the end of last year.

According to the August 2023 Bargaining Update, these workers will receive a total increase of 11% (well, technically 11.3%, if you account for compound increases) over the 3-year term of their new contract. Here’s how it breaks down per year.

1 Jan 20233.0%
1 Jan 20243.0%
1 Jan 20253.0%
1 Jan 20263.0%

Under the previous contract, the end rate—or the maximum wage an employee could make—was $37.34 an hour. By the time this contract finishes in December of 2026, the end rate will be $42.02 an hour.

This 3% annual increase is an improvement over the old contract, which had an average of 1.375% a year, including a wage freeze in the first year of the contract.

The new 4-year contract, which had to go to mediation, will affect 18 workers and will expire in December 2026.

The full contract was unavailable by press time, so I was unable to compare more than just the wage increases.

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By Kim Siever

Kim Siever is an independent queer journalist based in Lethbridge, Alberta. He writes daily news articles, focusing on politics and labour.

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