Last week, the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees published an update on their website regarding contract negotiations for workers employed by the Special Areas Board.
The Special Areas Board is responsible for providing rural municipal government services and public land management to the residents in southeast Alberta.
AUPE represents over 100 workers with this employer. It was closer to 200 workers back in 2013, but successive workforce reductions under the NDP and UCP administrations have seen the namber cut in half.
These workers fill a broad range of positions, including accountants, administrative support, system analysts, agrologists, assessors, land surveyors, technical aides, technologists, cooks, equipment operators, farm workers, maintenance service workers, stockkeepers, plumbers, carpenters, mechanics, machinists, partpersons, and welders.
According to last week’s update, the bargaining committee for these workers had reached a tentative agreement with the Special Areas Board.
The previous collective agreement for these workers expired in March 2024. The new collective agreement, if ratified by the workers, would take effect 1 April 2024 and last until the end of March 2028.
Promised in this 4-year tentative agreement is wage increases in every year.
| 1 April 2024* | 3.00% |
| 1 April 2025* | 3.00% |
| 1 April 2026 | 3.00% |
| 1 April 2027 | 3.00% |
This is a combined wage increase of 12%, or 12.55% if we account for compound increases. It is pretty much on par with what other public sector workers have negotiated in 2025.
How does that compare to what they got in their previous collective agreement?
| 1 January 2019 | 0.00% |
| 1 January 2020 | 0.00% |
| 1 January 2021 | 0.00% |
| 1 January 2022 | 0.00% |
| 1 January 2023 | 1.25% |
| 1 September 2023 | 1.50% |
So, in their last contract, which was for 5 years, they received 4 years of wage freezes, followed by 2.75% in their final year, with part of it coming in the final 6 months of the contract.
Compare this with inflation in Alberta, which increased 15.55% between January 2018 and January 2023.
That means, heading into bargaining for the new collective agreement, these workers were already dealing with a cut to real wages of 12.8%.
This proposed 12% increase will almost cover that real wage cut. But remember, that is spread out over 4 years, which means another 4 years of inflation, too.
For example, inflation since January 2023 has already climbed an additional 7.91%, and these workers are not even halfway through this collective agreement, which they have still yet to ratify.
Unfortunately, these workers will still be behind the cost of living increases, even with this 12% wage increase. Only because 12% is not enough to make up for the 4 years of wage freezes.
Now, to be fair, these workers also received $1,250 lump sum payment in 2022 ($500 for seasonal workers), so it is not like they received nothing extra in 2022.
But keep in mind, that lump sum payment do not affect base salaries, which is what raises are based on.
For example, if a worker made $40,000 a year in 2022, the lump sum payment would top that up to $41,250 by the end of the year. However, that 1.25% increase in January 2023 would have been based on $40,000, not on $41,250.
Lump sum payments are better than nothing, but they are short-term fixes for a long-term problem.
Also, in 2021, a handful of job classifications—mechanics, administrative support, and other administrative classifications—received a 4% market adjustment increase.
Speaking of which, the new collective agreement, if ratified, would bring a 5% market adjustment increase to agricultural officers, utility officers, transport officers, equipment operators, forepersons, automotive mechanics, and heavy duty mechanics.
That would come into effect next month and would be in addition to the 3% increase scheduled for next April, as reported earlier in this article.
Workers can also expect to see increases to several benefits if they ratify the agreement:
| Current | Proposed | |
|---|---|---|
| Flex spending account | $900 | $1,200 |
| Trailer allowance | $800 | $1,250 |
| Horse allowance | $350 | $750 |
Paid holidays, assuming the agreement is ratified, would include any days proclaimed to be a holiday by the provincial or federal governments, which would include National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Finally, the Special Areas Board has agreed to a good-faith review of how they apply allowances for required personal protective equipment and tools throughout the organization. This could include implementation of a new tack/tool allowance, as well as an allowance for kitchen tools.
The bargaining committee that the workers democratically elected presented the tentative agreement to the workers this past Wednesday.
In-person voting will begin tomorrow and end on the 12th.
