Achi news desk-
Wages and home working are key unresolved issues as City of Calgary Local 38 and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) try to reach an agreement.
Thousands of CUPE Local 38 members took part in a strike ballot on May 15 and 16.
The union represents in-house workers, covering administrative, technical and professional employees of the City of Calgary.
During the two days, 4,200 members voted out of 5,600, and of that, 3,700 voted in favor and 450 voted no.
The union’s website explains that the parties began the process of reaching a new collective agreement in the fall of 2023 and engaged a third-party mediator when they reached an impasse in March 2024.
The union was seeking improvements to the work-from-home agreement and a three-year settlement for pay rises:
- 2024 – 4.0 per cent
- 2025 – 3.5 per cent
- 2026 – 3.0 per cent
“This proposal is in line with current and future inflation estimates and improvements to change differential pay and contingency pay would bring Local 38 in line with what other city unions are accepting on this of meal,” says the union’s website.
“We believe that our proposal strikes a balance between responding to current inflationary pressures and being fair to taxpayers, of which all Local 38 members are members.”
However, the union says the city has remained firm on its offer:
- 2024 – 3.0 per cent
- 2025 – 3.0 per cent
- 2026 – 2.0 per cent
“We are disappointed with the outcome of the strike vote but discussions are continuing,” the City of Calgary said in a statement to CTV News.
“We are still hopeful that we can secure a fair and reasonable mutual agreement in future bargaining sessions.”
