The thirty or so employees in the La Matanie Regional County Municipality (RCM) in the Gaspé region have just signed a new collective agreement. The previous contract expired on December 31, 2019.

The membership consisting of clerical and professional personnel and fire department employees had unanimously ratified the tentative agreement by videoconference last March 8.

The new five-year agreement, which runs from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2024, calls for minimum annual salary increases of 2% starting in 2022.

Some of the gains include greater flexibility for family-related leave and the addition of a leave without pay clause for members with less than two years’ seniority and a statutory holiday between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Employees will also see improvements to their pension plan, and a clause has been added, enabling them to take deferred holidays.

In addition to keeping what we have, we’re proud of the improvements made to the new collective agreement. Negotiations took place in a cordial and respectful atmosphere,” declared Laurie Savard, President of CUPE 4602.