Your CUPE delegates, along with the delegates of the six other constituent unions in the CBA, have spent 16 days at the bargaining table with HEABC. Although we have had a full exchange of non-monetary proposals, we have made very little progress outside of administrative updates to the agreement.
Our goal is to make progress on the priorities you identified – this includes improving overtime language, enhancing mobility between employers, and ensuring language that is equal to that of workers covered under the FBA Collective Agreement.
Your committee is frustrated with the lack of progress and does not believe any meaningful momentum will be achieved during our remaining dates in July. Therefore, we have cancelled the remaining five days and informed HEABC that we will have to reconvene in September.
Although we have not yet begun discussing monetary proposals at the table, HEABC presented some monetary proposals on June 25, including those related to wages and low compensation redress. They are similar proposals that have been tabled at other provincial public sector bargaining tables.
Please note that this is the opening proposal, and it has not been accepted. However, we want to ensure you’re aware of the offer that was made — and to assure you that we know it falls short of addressing the priorities members like you have consistently raised.
The HEABC tabled monetary proposals include a proposed two-year agreement with the following General Wage Increase (GWI):
Year 1: The employer proposed two options for year one of the GWI:
Option A
- April 1, 2025: increase rates of pay by 0.5% plus $0.15 per hour
- October 1, 2025: increase rates of pay by 0.5% plus $0.15 per hour
Option B
- April 1, 2025: increase rates of pay by 0.75%
- October 1, 2025: increase rates of pay by 0.75%
Year 2:
- April 1, 2026: increase rates of pay by 1.0%
- October 1, 2026: increase rates of pay by 1.0%
It’s important to emphasize that this is the opening proposal, and it has not been accepted. This offer falls far short of recent wage settlements reached by CUPE locals across our province.
We have reiterated to the employer that any path to a tentative agreement must include a monetary offer that meaningfully addresses the affordability crisis facing public sector workers. We know from the last round of provincial negotiations that collective bargaining is a process, and that there is still plenty of work to be done before we reach a tentative agreement.
Your resolve and support are crucial to achieving positive results at the bargaining table, particularly in relation to non-monetary language and your rights under the collective agreement.
Please ensure that your contact information is up-to-date with your local. You can look forward to hearing from your committee when we resume bargaining in the fall.
In solidarity,
Your Community Bargaining Association (CBA) Negotiating Committee