Last month, the Mediation Services department of Alberta Jobs, Economy, and Trade published the February 2025 Bargaining Update.
This monthly report provides information about the unionized workforce, primarily in Alberta. In February, Mediation Services received settlement information regarding 16 private sector and 5 public sector bargaining settlements, covering 1,598 and 3,407 workers respectively.
Among those settlements was a contract for about 40 workers employed by Smoky Lake County in northeastern Alberta.
The workers in this collective agreement include scale operators, parts persons, shop clerks, equipment operators, waste management operators, welders, heavy duty mechanics, and labourers.
They’re represented by Local 955 of the International Union of Operating Engineers.
The previous contract expired back in December 2024. This new contract was settled back in January, less than a week after the last one expired.
The new collective agreement is for 2 years, which is less than the 4-year term in the previous agreement.
These workers are set to receive wage increases in every year of their new contract.
| 1 January 2025 | $3.00 |
| 1 January 2026 | 4.0% |
This works out to a combined increase of between 13.71% and 17.58%, depending on the position, over the course of the contract. That’s an annual average increase of between 6.86% and 8.79%.
Here’s a look at what else has changed between the previous collective agreement and the new one.
In the previous agreement, vacant permanent positions had to be “posted internally and externally for a minimum of 5 working days”. That’s been changed to “posted internally for a minimum of five (5) working days before any external posting”.
The following clause:
Any Beat Grader operator while on standby shall contact the Employer by 8:00 a.m. in each day to verify work is not available for that day, prior to the commencement of the shift.
has been changed to this:
Any Grader Operator while on standby shall contact the Employer by 4:00 p.m. the day prior to the standby day to verify work is not available for that day, prior to the commencement of the shift. In the event of any change in the need for work, the Employer will notify the Employee by 9:00 p.m. that same day.
Vacation time has been adjusted.
| Vacation length | Employment length (old) | Employment length (new) |
|---|---|---|
| 18 days | 1–7 years | 1–5 years |
| 20 days | 8–15 years | 6–10 years |
| 25 days | 16–20 years | 11–16 years |
| 30 days | 21+ years | 17+ years |
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was added to the list of paid holidays, bringing the total number of paid holidays to 14. These are the holidays used to determine stat pay.
The following two clauses:
Unsatisfactory performance by an employee which is considered by the Employer to be serious enough to be entered on the employee’s record, but not serious enough to warrant suspension or dismissal, may result in a written warning to the employee and a copy to the Business Representative of the Union within five (5) working days of the disciplinary action. The written warning shall indicate that it is disciplinary action. It shall state a definite period in which improvement or correction is expected and, at the conclusion of such time, the employee’s performance shall be reviewed with respect to the discipline. The employee shall be informed in writing of the results of the review. The assignment of an improvement or correction period shall not act to restrict the Employer’s right to take further action during said period should the employee’s performance so warrant.
The procedure stated above does not prevent immediate suspension or dismissal for just cause.
have been replaced with:
Discipline must be appropriate to the cause and in accordance with the principles of progressive discipline and just cause.
Progressive discipline shall proceed as follows:
- Verbal reprimand noted and placed on employee’s personnel file;
- Two (2) written reprimands;
- Suspension, demotion;
- Discharge.
Depending on the severity of the circumstances requiring discipline and subject to Clause 19.01 (b), the County reserves the right to proceed with whichever above disciplinary action it deems appropriate.
In the previous contract, workers who have been disciplined were to receive a written copy of the reasons for the discipline within 5 working days. That’s been reduced to just 2 working days.
The previous agreement allowed workers to accrue sick credits at a rate of 2 days for every 191 hours worked. In the new agreement, this has been restricted to just those who are permanent and working full-time and has been changed to 2 days for every calendar month. Permanent part-time workers can still accrue sick leave, but it’ll be on a prorated basis, depending on how many hours they work.
Any costs incurred in obtaining a doctor’s note for the employer while on sick leave will now be reimbursed by the employer.
The tool allowance has been increased from $500 per year to $650 per year.
The boot allowance has increased from $200 per year to $300 per year.
