After more than a year and a half at the bargaining table, workers at Queens Association for Supported Living, QASL, in Milton, Nova Scotia reached a tentative agreement on November 8. and on November 12 the 43 workers in CUPE 4963 voted to ratify the tentative agreement.
“This is a hard-won victory for us,” said CUPE 4963 President Kaelee Baker. “Being the last CUPE local in this sector really tested our resolve, and QASL knew it. But we stood firm in our demands, and in our solidarity, and the outcome is a deal that will improve daily working life for members in local 4963.”
CUPE represents 43 workers (including residential counsellors and program instructors) at QASL and CUPE 4963 was the last of 21 CUPE locals in the Department of Community Services sector to achieve a deal in this round of bargaining.
The new contract includes several key victories for workers, including improved processes for booking vacation days, and the ability to carry over denied banked holiday hour requests. Strengthening language around vacation booking and hours has been a leading priority for members in this round of bargaining.
CUPE 4963 members are also celebrating a crucial win regarding hiring: the employer will now assess internal candidates for job competitions prior to assessing external candidates.
QASL has also agreed to cover the cost of any additional training or education required as part of implementation of ‘the remedy’ (referring to the five-year plan ordered by the province’s human rights Board of Inquiry to address discrimination against persons with disabilities in their access to social assistance). Even though the 20 other employers in the Department of Community Services sector with CUPE members, along with the Department itself, had agreed to this language in agreements signed earlier this year, QASL was the last hold out on this important item.
“A year and a half is a long time to be bargaining a contract, but the bargaining committee is glad that both parties were able to come together in the end to arrive at terms that QASL agreed to, and that our members are happy with,” continued Baker.