Last month, someone representing Local 417 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees reached out to The Alberta Worker regarding their recent ratification of a memorandum of agreement.
The MOA is a tentative collective agreement presented to members in a ratification vote. In this particular case, the workers voted last month 99% in favour of ratifying the agreement.
The workers are employed with Sylvan Lake Foundation, where they run the Sylvan Lake Lodge and Sylvan Manor, senior residence facilities located in the community of Sylvan Lake.
These workers are housekeeping aides, dietary aides, activity aides, kitchen workers, and maintenance workers.
Since their vote, I managed to get a copy of the collective agreement, so I could compare it with their previous agreement.
This is only the second agreement these workers have ratified since leaving the Christian Labour Association of Canada and organizing through CUPE.
Their previous agreement expired in December 2024. Their new contract is a 2-year contract, which will end at the end of 2026.
The workers are set to get a wage increase in each year of the contract, with the first increase being retroactive.
| 1 January 2025 | $1.35 |
| 1 January 2026 | $1.25 |
This works out to a combined increase of between 9.36% and 13.99%, depending on the wages at the end of the previous contract.
They got a 50¢ raise in the first year of their previous contract and 2% in the second year.
Here are some other changes between these two contracts.
Casual workers will now have the option of participating in the company insurance plan once they’ve worked 2080 hours.
Also new regarding casual workers is that the employer will analyze casual hours at least once a year to determine if any casual workers should be permanent part-time or full-time instead of casual.
The following clause has been added to the collective agreement:
3.03 Use of Volunteers
- The use of volunteers shall not lead to the replacement, transfer, reassignment, or layoff of bargaining unit Employees, to a reduction in their hours of work, or to the elimination of positions in the bargaining unit.
- Written statements describing all volunteer contributions shall be provided to the Union; all volunteers will receive statements appropriate to the program(s) in which they participate, to ensure that they are aware of the parameters of their contributions.
- Discussion will take place with Union representatives prior to the implementation of any new volunteer-based program.
If there’s an error in a worker’s paycheque, the employer will rectify it within 3 days. Previously, it was “as soon as possible”.
Standby shifts for maintenance workers will now be distributed evenly. Previously, it wasn’t specified.
There is now a working alone premium of $2.50 per hour for workers who must work alone during their shift.
A weekend shift premium of $1 an hour was also introduced in the new contract for those working between 08:00 on Saturday and 16:00 on Sunday.
In the previous agreement, workers who were receiving sick leave credits on a stat holiday weren’t entitled to payment for that holiday. That’s been removed in the new contract and replaced with “an additional day in lieu of the holiday at straight time”.
Also in the previous contract, full-time workers who’ve been withe Sylvan Lake Foundation for at least 6 months had to participate in the CUPE Local 417 Pension Plan. Now, they will join “join the mutually agreed upon defined benefit pension plan”.
Stepparents and stepchildren have been added to the list of family members whose death qualifies for bereavement leave.
Workers also now get a total 5 days of bereavement leave each year to use for funerals that aren’t for immediate family. They can use all 5 for just one funeral or 1 day each for 5 funerals, for example.
As well, the collective agreement no longer states that the employer may request proof of funeral attendance from the worker claiming bereavement leave.
Clothing allowance has increased from $150 a year to $174 a year.
