After weeks of the employer refusing to get back to bargaining, CUPE 882 workers have reached an impasse with the City of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and are set to strike. Prince Albert’s municipal workers are preparing for job action, up to and including a full withdrawal of services as early as August 10, 2023.
The city’s offer would leave city workers with less purchasing power at a time when everything is getting more expensive,” said Tammy Vermette, president of CUPE 882. “Despite the rhetoric from the City of Prince Albert, this offer does not address the crushing cost-of-living and instead asks their workers to do more with less.”
After employees rejected the city’s final offer, the city has refused to meet with the union. The mandatory conciliation process was not successful and ended in half a day.
While city workers have accepted offers that do not keep pace with the rate of inflation, the Mayor of Prince Albert and City Council have seen their compensation increase by 20% from 2016 to 2021, double the increases received by city inside workers during this period.
“The City of Prince Albert works because our members do. Asking them to accept increases below what Mayor and Council have given themselves is just not on,” said Cara Stelmaschuk, Vice-President of CUPE 882. “The City of Prince Albert needs to shelve the excuses and make an offer that addresses the crushing cost-of-living.”
CUPE 882 represents the City of Prince Albert inside workers, including administration, information technology, bylaw enforcement, building inspections, recreation, and arts employees among other classifications. They have been without a contract since December 2021.