Iqaluit municipal workers ink new collective agreement
Nunavut Employees Union Local 06 membership includes water truck operators, firefighters other municipal workers
Members of Nunavut Employees Union Local 06 announced a new collective agreement with the City of Iqaluit last week, which takes effect Jan. 1. From left: local vice-president and firefighter Alex Storring, firefighter and emergency medical responder Solomon Tagak, and local president and mechanic Quinlin Iredale. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
Updated Friday, Dec. 20 at 10:30 a.m. ET
Iqaluit municipal workers are welcoming new safety measures added to their new collective agreement.
Nunavut Employees Union Local 06 — which includes the city’s water truck operators, firefighters, paramedics, mechanics, road workers and municipal workers — ratified the four-year deal Dec. 11.
City councillors voted to approve the then-tentative agreement after a lengthy in-camera portion of their Dec. 10 meeting.
Wage details included in the new collective agreement are not clear. Council did not discuss the contract during the public portion of the meeting, and neither the city nor union would comment on what wage increases are included.
Nunavut Employees Union president Jason Rochon said in an email that the pay increase is “substantial,” but did not provide specifics.
“We got a lot of good benefits and we didn’t have to make any concessions for that,” said Alex Storring, the Local 06 vice-president and firefighter, in an interview.
He and Local 06 president Quinlin Iredale spoke of some of the worker safety measures included in the deal. There is now a line of duty death clause, as well as measures to prevent firefighters from being exposed to cancer-causing substances.
“We have a lot of young members on our fire team now, so this will go a long way in keeping them healthy and safe for longer careers,” said Iredale, who works as a mechanic at a municipal garage.
All employees covered under the contract now have four “traditional” days — up from two days in the previous agreement — to hunt and take part in other traditional activities, said firefighter Solomon Tagak.
“I thought that was a pretty important acknowledgement,” Tagak said, adding it shows the city’s commitment to Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, or traditional principles.
The new agreement takes effect Jan. 1, 2025, the day after the current one expires, and runs until Dec. 31, 2028.
Note: This story was corrected to note that all employees covered under the new contract will receive four days to take part in traditional activities.
“Inuit employees now have four “traditional” days”
Why are these limited to inuit? Non-inuit are not allowed to partake in hunting and fishing? Or have to go on the weekend like the rest of the world?
Divisive provisions like that have no place in a public governments collective agreement.
Well, that’s just, like, your opinion,
man. This aggression will not stand man.
Like, Bro, you about to catch some gnarly waves dude?
My father, Mikitok Bruce, was over 90 when he passed away. He was born before communities formed and the government took over. He did not believe in taking time off during work days to go out hunting; he said you have holidays and weekends for that. While he was alive , a housing project workers were given time off to go hunting and one young man close to him kept hunting every good day and not working. He was a retired person from a job with the Department of Transport – DOT. He also did not believe in the welfare system for healthy people.
God bless your father. Sadly the generation of hard workers is slipping away and now you can’t even say Merry Christmas without offending someone.
Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. Nobody actually gets upset about saying Merry Christmas.
I’ve only ever seen people get bent out of shape over being wished a happy holidays. NEVER the reverse.
All of NUNAVIK communities (Town Municipalities) should be UNIONIZED!!!! If certain Inuit Organizations in Kuujjuaq could have their employees having 6, 7, 8 and up to 10 months of PAID STRESS leave than all Organizations should be entitled to these ridiculous Benefits. If your from the south and a non inuit you should not be able or allowed to have these many months of paid stress leave if you cannot take living in the Northern climate and its BEHAVIOR. Stop making EXCUSES that you all have PTSD!!
Not related to the subject in Nunavut-stop ranting on the paper, go to the orgs concerned to find solution.
Not here, no. In the GTA, with the wrong person, you could get your head snapped off. It is meaningless, and I find a nice, “And God bless you too” is a fitting rejoinder, but it does happen.
Government involvement in the 60s with force relocation, specially in kivalliq, there isnt much activities throughout Nunavut, but government still has many jobs to think about. At least in other communities, it’s free of these force relocations, where today their generations still fights to live and be apart of kivalliq communities. Where in traditional lands, Inuit traditional lands, it still effecting their generations leaving their homeland moving to shores and relocate them. They are silenced, but in the communities, it still seems to bother them even with their lawyers being paid and all their generations gets govt. Forgiveness. I hope Nunavut learns, and protects their citizens even with all this activities in some communities in kivalliq.
The sewage truck and water trucks vehicles run by the hamlets in Nunavut, their engines is way too loud. It makes our stomach to make noises. It is a health risk to our citizens. Can they understand and know about them please?