Last month, the Mediation Services department of Alberta Jobs, Economy, and Trade published the November 2024 Bargaining Update.
This monthly report provides information about the unionized workforce, primarily in Alberta. In November, Mediation Services received settlement information regarding 20 private sector and 11 public sector bargaining settlements, covering 2,841 and 4,096 workers respectively.
Among those settlements was a contract for about 40 trades workers employed by Menard Canada.
Based out of Québec, Menard provides soil investigation, improvement, and remediation services.
These workers are represented by Local 955 of the International Union of Operating Engineers. They include concrete workers, equipment operators, welders, millwrights, and electricians working throughout Alberta.
Their previous contract actually expired this past April. The new contract wasn’t settled until October.
The workers can expect to get wage increases in at least the first 3 years of this 4-year contract. It’s a bit of a different format than other wage increases I’ve reported on.
They were to receive a 4.4% raise retroactive to this past May. Then next May and the following May, the workers will get a raise equal to inflation plus 1%.
However, that increase will be a minimum of 3% and max out at 5%.
| 1 May 2024 | 4.40% |
| 1 May 2025 | 3–5% |
| 1 May 2026 | 3–5% |
Then Menard and the workers will have a wage reopener toward the end of the contract to determine what increase they’ll get for their final year.
This is actually a pretty decent increase.
It’s less than the 7.5% increase they got in 2022 and the 5% they got last year, but inflation was much higher for those two years.
Inflation in May 2022 was 7.13%, and it was 3.08% in May 2022, so those raises are substantial and helped these workers keep up with the increased cost of living.
Likewise, inflation was 3.05% in May 2024, so this year’s raise will keep up with inflation, and since the next two are based on inflation, they will as well.
On top of that, the lowest paid position will be making more than $35 an hour with this year’s raise.
Here are some highlights of other changes between the new contract and their previous contract.
If a worker is on a site without a work camp, they have access to a living out allowance and a meal allowance. The meal allowance has increased from $80 per day to $85 per day, and the living out allowance has increased from $175 to $185 per day.
Contributions for both the employer and the workers will increase over the life of this contract.
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benefits | $2.75 | $2.80 | $2.85 | $2.90 | $2.95 |
| Pension | $8.50 | $8.75 | $9.00 | $9.25 | $9.50 |
As well, the training trust fund has been split into two funds, with the second being the IUOE National Training Fund. Under the previous contract, contributions were 78¢. This year, they will be 73¢, with the other 5¢ going into the IUOE fund, which will remain at 5¢ every year of the contract. The original training trust fund will increase to 78¢ in 2026 and 81¢ in 2027.
