City of Iqaluit reaches 5-year deal with union
New contract includes domestic violence leave and a signing bonus
On June 29, the city ratified a new deal with the union representing its employees. It includes a wage increase, signing bonus and paid domestic violence leave. (File photo by David Venn)
The City of Iqaluit has signed a new, five-year deal with the union representing its employees.
The contract was ratified between the city and the Public Service Alliance of Canada on June 29, according to a news release from city spokesperson Lisa Milosavljevic on Monday.
The first year of the deal dates back to 2020, and includes no increase to employees’ salaries. After that, there will be a two per cent raise in 2021 and 2022, a 1.5-per-cent raise in 2023 and a two-per-cent raise in 2024, according to the city’s chief administrative officer, Amy Elgersma.
“The new agreement strives for fairness and equity for city employees,” she said in the release. “We are fortunate to have great, caring staff who strive to make Iqaluit a great place to live every day.”
An addition to the contract is a domestic violence leave, which allows for paid leave for up to five working days and an additional five days without pay.
There will also be a language incentive bonus that ranges between $1,000 and $1,500 for employees who can communicate in either French or Inuktitut, depending on their level of reading, writing and speaking.
New permanent, full-time employees will receive a $2,000 signing bonus. Permanent part-time workers will receive a prorated amount.
Nunatsiaq News asked Elgersma how much the agreement would increase costs for the city but didn’t receive a response before deadline.
“I would like to thank our city staff for their continued work and dedication,” Mayor Kenny Bell said in the news release.
Pretty poor result. No interest for a lost year. PSAC is pretty poor at this, I’ll see how they do with GN but don’t expect much. Inflation is now well over 2% and anything less means you make less than you did last year.
The yearly inflation rate is close to 4 percent per year at least..
I should hope the increase is onto of a CPI increase. If the negotiators for the union struck a deal with increases actually lower than projected future inflation rates, they would / should be swiftly removed. The USA is experiencing 5% inflation, Canada is seeing 3%+. Several big banks are projecting 2%+ for the foreseeable future and if inflation is not at that rate its likely because The Fed and The BoC increased interest rates to combat inflation.
The GN? – be lucky to see anything till 2025. They are truly shameful in their general attitude towards staff.
What kind of sick society needs domestic violence leave?
This is false information. 9-5 office workers get the same salary as 8-5 and shift workers. Even though 8-5 workers work 250 more hours in a year. So this is why they are barley increasing the pay