On June 13, 2023, Collective Agreement negotiations between the City of Moose Jaw and Unifor Local 101R have reached a successful conclusion regarding transit employees.
Moose Jaw’s mayor Clive Tolley shared his thoughts on the agreement. “I’m very, very happy that the operators of our busses now have a contract in place until 2025.
“Our negotiations from the City of Moose Jaw were done by TJ Karwandy… I want to thank him for his work.”
Four copies of the document were then handed over to be signed.
“Certainly, it is something that is very important in our community. We have more and more new Canadians… coming to our community. Most of them don’t have cars and need to use the bus service and I think we can all benefit by using our transit system,” said Tolley.
“I think that’s a very good thing for the City of Moose Jaw and for everybody. We benefit more from working together than we do by opposing.
“I’ve seen a marked improvement in our relationship between the unions and management since Mr. Karwandy started here, so I want to congratulate him for helping establish those relationships,” said Tolley. “And of course, the unions for coming to the table with a positive attitude and working with us, so I think good things are ahead for these kinds of negotiations.”
Jim Wiens, the attending union representative and global chair for Unifor Local 101R, also shared his thoughts on the agreement.
“I think it’s a very strong agreement for both sides,” Wiens confirmed.
Both the City of Moose Jaw and Unifor Local 101R reported that the negotiation process went smoothly. Wiens pointed out that transit program members were organized and clear in what they needed going forward.
“It’s something again I really commend the members of the transit program for. They really know what they wanted. They knew very clearly the things they needed out of the agreement and how it made it so much easier for both sides to have frank, open discussions…[They could] really see that there wasn’t going to be a possibility of us going on strike,” Wiens said.
“Both sides knew what we needed, what we wanted, and how we were going to work our path to get there.”
Wiens had positive things to say about the professionalism shown by all sides during the negotiating process, which is not always the norm in these types of agreements.
“Personally, for a guy who works in the back shop [and works with a group that deals with the public everyday], it speaks to the professionalism…and how they represent this city when they are moving those buses around.”
As these employees were without a contract since the start of 2023, Wiens explained how this agreement was well received. “It adds a lot of security for both sides. The drivers know now that when they come to work, they are going to have a reliable source of income and employment security.”
In addition to enhancements to employee benefits, this agreement states the following wage increases:
- 1.8 per cent on January 1, 2023
- 1.5 per cent on January 1, 2024
- 2.0 per cent on January 1, 2025
Going forward, the city announced that they are also looking into ways to improve the transit system, such as implementing technologies to make routes more efficient for passengers.
“Those are the kinds of improvements our city administration and transit system will be looking at in the future. For now, we have a well-functioning transit system… (but) it can always be improved,” said Tolley.
Noting that there are times where pensioners or other passengers are let off so to avoid icy spots or on irregular stops to help in their commute, Tolley recognized the efforts of transit drivers. “I thank our drivers and our management for that. That’s being a good driver and a good citizen for the City of Moose Jaw.”
Wiens was also in agreement with this notion, pointing out that “these drivers can get them to the places not necessarily on a bus route, and get them there safely and with as much flexibility to their schedule as we can.”
Unifor Local 101R is the representative of 18 current employees working with Moose Jaw Transit. As well, the union represents CP Rail employees and other transit employees across South Saskatchewan.
“(It) is just so refreshing to see two sides so willing to work together and just willing to put everything out there and come to an agreement. It just… strongly helps both sides… and it is a really good agreement for the public as well,” remarked Wiens.
“Sometimes, just leave your car at home and take the bus,” Tolley reminded us.
