Last month, Alberta Mediation Services published their bargaining update for August 2026, which covers all the collective agreement settlement information received by Mediation Services in last month.
This information included 31 bargaining relationships encompassing 3,645 workers. Of those, 16 were private sector and 15 were public sector, with 2,130 and 1,515 workers respectively.
One of the private sector agreements was for workers employed by Dataco Utility Services Ltd.
Based in Calgary, Dataco provides third-party services to utility companies, such as Enmax and various municipal governments. Workers employed by Dataco install, disconnect, exchange, reconnect, and read utility meters.
Those 3 dozen or so workers are members of United Utility Workers Association and are located throughout Alberta.
Their previous collective agreement expired at the end of 2025. This new agreement was ratified this past February, about a month and a half after the old one expired, but Mediation Services received it just recently.
The workers will received a 9% wage increase over the course of the new 3-year contract, which expires at the end of 2028.
| 1 January 2026 | 3.00% |
| 1 January 2027 | 3.00% |
| 1 January 2028 | 3.00% |
| 9.00% |
It actually works out to around 9.27% if you account for compound increases.
They got 12% in their last contract, but that was over 5 years, averaging 2.4%, which is less than the 3% they are getting in this new contract.
Before we start celebrating, however, we should bring in some additional context.
Between January 2020 (the last raise before their previous contract) and January 2025 ( the last raise before the new contract), the consumer price index in Alberta increased 25.4 points, from 144.7 points to 170.1 points.
That is a 17.55% increase.
So, these workers got a 12% raise during a time of 17.55% inflation. They had a loss in real wages of 5.55% heading into negotiations for their new contract.
Even if we account for compounded increases, they were still left with a 5% real wage cut.
That means that this 9% raise is actually a 4% raise, which is an average of just 1.33% per year.
Inflation since January 2025 has already passed 5.35%. This contract has not even finished its first year, and these workers already are back in the red. Two more years of inflation is going to make the situation worse.
Here are some other changes over the previous agreement.
Temporary workers can now be employed for up to 6 months. In the last collective agreement, it was half that.
Workers who have been employed with Dataco for 25 years or more qualify for 7 weeks of paid vacation. Previously, the cutoff was 6 weeks and for everyone over 17 years.
Niblings were added to the list of immediate family members in regards to bereavement leave.
Workers filing a grievance have 14 days to discuss it with their supervisor. Previously, it was 10 days. The time to file for grievance arbitration cahnged from 15 working days to 21 calendar days.
Mileage has increased from 53¢ a kilometre to 55¢ a kilometre.
The vehicle allowance for Red Deer workers increased from $14.50 per working day to $15.05 per working day.
Lunch payment has increased from $15 to $20 for meter readers who have to travel outside their service point. Breakfast and dinner per diems have increased from $12.50 and $22.50 to $15.00 and $25.00, respectively, for workers who are out of town and must stay overnight. There is also a new $50 out-of-town premium.
The fuel surcharge for service technicians has changed.
| Fuel price | Old fuel surcharge | New surcharge |
|---|---|---|
| $0.01–1.00 | — | $12.50 |
| $0.75–1.25 | $11.26 | — |
| $1.01–1.25 | — | $16.00 |
| $1.26–1.35 | $13.76 | $18.50 |
| $1.36–1.45 | $16.26 | $21.00 |
| $1.46–1.55 | $16.26 | $22.25 |
N95 masks have been added to the list of tools and equipment that Dataco has promised to provide for workers.
Term workers now get access to the footwear & clothing allowance, which will be $125 every 6 months for them.
The amount workers receive per hour to attend training has increased.
| Old | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Used own vehicle | $21.23 | $21.87 | $22.53 | $23.20 |
| Did not use own vehicle | $16.98 | $17.39 | $17.91 | $18.45 |
The rush/emergency reconnect premium has increased from $72.71 to $73.99 per connection.
On-call premium for service technicians has increased from $61.76 to $70.56 per shift.
Acting managerial premium has increased from $3.20 per hour to $3.64 per hour. It will increase another 10¢ an hour next year and reach $3.86 an hour in the final year of the contract.
