Employees of the Municipality of Saint-Philippe, Quebec, have renewed their collective agreement for a period of six years. At a general meeting on February 1, the members unanimously ratified the tentative agreement between the City and the Union (CUPE 4345).
”I must to applaud the work on both sides of the table,” said Marie-Claude Lessard, CUPE representative. “When you have great collaboration, it‘s important to acknowledge it.”
The municipality of Saint-Philippe is growing, and the City is renewing its machinery and equipment to meet the needs of the community; it is also attending to its human capital by making the necessary adjustments to improve working conditions for its employees. “We ironed out a lot of little things that significantly improve working conditions. There was a lot of catching up to do and that’s especially reflected in salary increases,” noted Lessard.
As the collective agreement expired on December 31, 2009, the increases cover the years 2010 to 2015. The increase will be 3 per cent for the first year and 2.75 per cent for the five following years. The new contract also adds a premium for evening and night work ($1.00/hour) and an increase in the duty premium. Among other gains, employees will now be able to take a leave with deferred salary.
“We hope to continue working with the City to the benefit of our members. This willingness to cooperate is reflected in the addition of working relations and health and safety committees, as well as two joint committees, including one to study the establishment of a pension plan,” concluded Lessard.