In the town of Fort Smith, members of the PSAC/UNW have agreed on the New Collective Agreement that was proposed.
The agreement was originally made on February 17th, but just received ratification on March 1st.
The highlights of the agreement include;
– Wage increases: totaling a compound wage increase of 8.5 % over the life of the new agreement
– 3 % increase to the Northern Allowance
– Increase in shift premiums to $1.90/hour for evening and night hours
– In an effort to increase the use of Indigenous languages in the town, language training was added to education leave as well as a premium for employees who are required to use an official language of the NWT other than English
– Addition of Truth and Reconciliation Day to paid holidays
– Other leave expanded to a bank of 8 days that can be used for: Traditional Indigenous hunting, fishing, harvesting or cultural activities, participation in various sporting events and up to 3 days to be used for religious or cultural holidays that are not specified in the collective agreement
PSAC North REVP Lorraine Rousseau said in a statement;
“On behalf of PSAC North, I want to congratulate members working for the Town of Fort Smith. You’ve always gone above and beyond to provide services to the community. You deserve nothing less than a fair deal that addresses your concerns and priorities.
“The union was very pleased to see a tentative agreement reached after one round of negotiations,” said Gayla Thunstrom, UNW President. “When both sides are willing to come together and bargain in good faith, everybody wins. Congratulations and thank you to the hard working bargaining team.”
