City Council Ratifies CUPE Deal; Full Details Still Not Known

Monday night, city council ratified the new contract between the City of Guelph and three Canadian Union of Public Employees locals that was reached on April 3. The motion was passed unanimously with all councillors and the mayor voting in favour, but they know what's in the deal. We, among the general public, still do not.

Well, that's not exactly true. Thanks to a city press release, we know that CUPE locals 241, 973 and 1946 will receive a wage increase each year over a four-year contact — 1.5 per cent per year in 2016 and in 2017, and 1.6 per cent per year in 2018 and 2019. The full details though will not be made public until the agreement's been ratified by one final body, the Guelph Public Library Board of Directors. The three CUPE locals ratified it last week.

“We value and appreciate the work of our employees, and are pleased to reach these agreements without any disruption to City programs and services,” said David Godwaldt, Guelph’s general manager of human resources in the release. “We want to thank the bargaining teams for working together to negotiate affordable settlements that protect citizens’ interests and provide fair, equitable and competitive compensation to employees.” Mayor Cam Guthrie also praised both negotiating teams at the council meeting saying that the quick turnaround and the fair and reasonable outcome was appreciated. 

Of course, this is not the end of the City's labour woes. Negotiations with the firefighters union and the paramedics union is still ongoing.

The Library Board will vote to ratify on their April 19 meeting.