Secretaries, paralegals and lawyers who work for the Saskatchewan Legal Aid Commission have voted to accept a new three-year contract that runs until September 2000.
After bargaining for almost 20 months, the workers voted to take job action in May. Because they are required by law to handle cases assigned to them, a full-scale walkout was not possible, so they refused to accept new clients.
Secretary and paralegal wages increase by 3.6% in October 1997 and a further 2% in each of the next two years. Lawyers receive 2% in each of the three years, plus an additional 4.5%, in exchange for 11 Earned Days Off (EDOs).
Two key gains were an agreement to establish a pay equity plan by the end of September 2000 and the right to file grievances on the issue of workload, something they had been fighting to achieve for 20 years.