Earlier this week, I received a copy of a memorandum of agreement from Local 417-09 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
The union represents about 35 workers at the Central Alberta Women’s Emergency Shelter Society.
Based out of Red Deer, the society oversees the operation of its emergency shelter for families experience family violence. They also oversee case management and community support for these families.
These workers include team leads, crisis workers, client support workers, housekeepers, kitchen staff, data specialists, events coordinators, child support workers, court workers, case management workers, and administrative support.
The MOA is a tentative collective agreement presented to members in a ratification vote. In this particular case, the workers voted on 12 April 2025 “overwhelmingly”—according to local president Deboarah Schaan—in favour of ratifying the agreement.
This is actually only the second collective agreement these workers have received since unionizing their workplace in July 2021.
Their previous contract was settled in February 2023 and expired at the end of last month. The new contract, once updated and finalized, will run from April 2025 until March 2027.
The workers are set to receive a 50¢ wage increase in each year of the 2-year agreement, for a combined $1 increase over the length of the contract.
This works out to between 3.43% and 5.82% over the next two years, depending on the position. This is better than their last contract, where they received a 1% increase in their second year.
Here are some other changes in the new collective agreement compared to their first agreement.
Work schedules will be posted 10 days in advance. It was 5 days under the previous contract.
The employer will no longer be able to schedule workers for 4 consecutive night shifts unless it’s mutually agreed to in advance.
There is a new night shift differential of $1.50 per hour for any hours worked between midnight and 07:00 the following morning.
The new collective agreement introduced a new section on advancement and placement on the wage grid. Any new hires or promotions will automatically be placed in step 1 of the wage grid for their new positions. After having worked 720 hours, the workers will be bumped to the second step. Subsequent wage bumps will occur after the worker puts in 2,080 hours in their current step. Each position maxes out at four steps, however.
In the previous agreement, workers who had been with the company for at least 3 months would be entitled to 1 week’s worth of severance pay when their position is terminated. That has been changed to 90 days.
Workers who are scheduled to work on general holidays and end up working those days will get paid day off in lieu of that day. However, the new collective agreement requires the workers to take it within 30 days after the holiday occurred.
If the employer requires workers to come in from their day off for a mandatory meeting, they will pay those workers 1.5 times their regular pay rate.
The health spending account will change from $35 per month to $420 per year, and will be prorated for any workers who become permanent after the start of each year.
If a worker waives their right to union representation during a disciplinary meeting, the union will recieve a copy of the signed waiver.
The employer has promised to research the CAAT Pension Plan prior to the end of this year.
