The Simon Fraser Student Society and the Canadian Union of Public Employees have ratified a new five-year collective agreement for staff at the Student Society. The new agreement eliminates a two-tier wage structure and will ensure every CUPE member at the Society will be guaranteed a living wage by 2023.
CUPE 3338, the local representing the 40 workers at the Simon Fraser Student Society, says the new collective agreement will mean a fairer and more equitable workplace.
“Two-tier wages have no place in the workplace. I want to congratulate our members and thank the Student Society for working with us in addressing this inequity,” said Fiona Brady Lenfesty, president of CUPE 3338. “This agreement is a prime example of what collaborative bargaining can yield – concrete improvements for workers.”
The collective agreement was reached after a year of negotiations. It includes a 2 per cent wage increase in each year of the agreement, improved access to benefits for all workers, among other contract improvements.
Ayesha Khan, Operations Organizer of the SFSS says their committee was able to “correct harmful gaps that past anti-union Management strategically had in place to dismantle worker power. We are incredibly proud of the joint work done on both sides of the table to establish a more equitable agreement for our staff - including boosting student wages and crafting new language for self-identified Indigenous workers to access paid days off to observe ceremony. Strong, worker-centered agreements lead to healthy workplaces.”
The SFSS bargaining committee was made up of SFU undergraduate students from the following equity-seeking communities: Indigenous, Black and other People of Colour, disabled and neurodiverse, and 2SLGBTQIA+.
CUPE 3338 represents over 1200 members in six bargaining units working mostly on Simon Fraser University campuses.