Roughly three dozen union members were outside Prince Albert City Hall on Monday. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By paNOW staff

ON STRIKE

CUPE 882 on strike after latest offer to city is rejected

Sep 10, 2023 | 6:04 PM

The City of Prince Albert has rejected the latest offer from CUPE 882, meaning the union is now on strike as of Monday morning.

In a media release, the union representing inside city workers said it presented a proposal to the city.

“We put forward a reasonable offer which we believed would be a good starting point for re-opening discussions,” said CUPE national representative Mira Lewis. However, on Sunday afternoon, the employer rejected the union’s latest offer and continues to refuse to negotiate with us.”

As a result, union workers hit the picket lines on Sept. 11, marking the first time in the union’s 70-year history that they’ve ever held a strike.

Union Vice-President Cara Stelmaschuk was on the picket line early Monday morning.

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“This is very disappointing that we’re here at this point,” she said. “But at the same time, we do feel it’s important that people understand the value that we provide to the City of Prince Albert. These are the people that provide a lot of services…that our city council and the mayor have staked their reputations on, they make promises to the community and we’re the ones that follow through with the services that they get elected on.”

Employees have been on various stages of work-to-rule action since Aug. 10. This has included refusal to train and abide by dress code policies.

The CUPE release states that wages are still the major issue for members as some are barely making minimum wage.

“We know that recruitment and retention are an issue for the city,” said Stelmaschuk. “Improving wages and working conditions is the only way to address this issue.”

(Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

(Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

The City of Prince Albert has stood firm on its position that it can not offer more than an 11% wage increase over four years, stating that its the highest increase among major cities in Saskatchewan.

They’ve added that a bump to 12 per cent, which the union is asking would require a significant increase to property taxes.

CUPE 882 refuted those remarks in their release providing numbers of agreements made with other communities like Wakaw, Biggar, Watrous, and Kindersley, showing their agreements had more than an 11 per cent increase for workers.

Lewis and the rest of CUPE 882 are hopeful that the city can return to the bargaining table soon.

“A deal cannot be reached without both sides talking to each other.”

The City of Prince Albert confirmed to paNOW on Friday that secretaries, accounting clerks, planners, technologists, recreation programmers, lifeguards, and concessions are among the positions that will be affected by the strike. However, disruption to service will be minimal as the city does have backup plans in place.

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panews@pattisonmedia.com

@princealbertnow