The blue-collar workers of the Town of Mount Royal, who gathered at a general union meeting on the evening of January 23, voted 73% in favour of a new collective agreement. It covers a 7‑year period from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2021 and calls for a total wage increase of 17.5%, i.e., 7.05% retroactively for the three years that have passed and a total of 10.45% for the coming four years.
Under the terms of the agreement, 11 blue-collar workers will be switched from auxiliary to permanent status, and the minimum employee level will be set at 59 permanent employees. An additional floating holiday was negotiated and leave of this type shall be divided up and calculated in hours going forward.
The employer shall fill positions no more than 30 days after they have become vacant. In addition, the clause on the working clothes of the auxiliaries has been improved. Disciplinary action by the employer shall be imposed within 3 months instead of six. Any such action taken shall remain on file for 12 months instead of 18 if there has not been a recurrence.
“The Mount-Royal blue-collar workers, who are CUPE members, displayed a conciliatory attitude by accepting the employer’s proposal. The important thing is that they were able to freely express themselves with respect to a clear proposal. Such is the mandate that the tutor of CUPE 301 established for all bargaining cases,” said Stéphane Paré, the CUPE union representative.
“The text will be verified, and the document signed very quickly in the next few days so that this new collective agreement can take effect,” added Stéphane Paré.