The eight inside and outside workers with the Municipality of Harrington signed a new collective agreement at the Town Hall this week.
It only took five meetings for the parties to agree on renewing the contract, which will take effect on January 1, 2025 and includes improvements to schedules and wages.
The contract has wage catch-up provisions to take effect on January 1, 2025, calling for increases of between 8% and 16% to achieve conditions comparable to those offered by various municipalities in the Laurentian Region. For 2026 to 2030 inclusive, increases will be pegged to the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) of the Montreal region and shall be no less than 2.25% and no more than 3.5%.
In addition to wage enhancements, the contract allows for more scheduling flexibility to give more leeway to employees, while maintaining the same level service to citizens during Town Hall business hours. Moreover, the municipality agreed to stop contracting out the snow removal of its parking lots and will be bringing back in house a portion of the road snow removal operations in the next few months.
“Talks were cordial, transparent and frank, which produced a collective agreement to everyone’s satisfaction. Both sides were pleased that negotiations were wrapped up quickly and effectively,” said CUPE union representative Stéphane Paré.