The board of education for Prairie South School Division (PSSD) and CUPE Local 5512 have signed a new three-year collective agreement that gives affected staff an eight-per-cent wage increase.
The new agreement commences Sept. 1, 2022 and ends Aug. 31, 2025. Affected employees will receive an increase of three per cent in the first year, 2.5 per cent in the second year and 2.5 per cent in the third year. This means some staff will receive a 76-cent pay raise from year to year.
A board report explained that the Government of Saskatchewan does not provide funding for CUPE collective agreements. While the division’s 2022-23 budget can cover the three-per-cent increase, the organization will have to address the remaining five per cent during future global budget processes.
The previous agreement expired on Aug. 31, 2022, while negotiations for the next agreement began later that fall. The bargaining committees for each party agreed to pre-schedule three two-day bargaining sessions — a total of nine days pre-scheduled — that would be held at the division office on Ninth Avenue Northwest.
The first bargaining sessions occurred on Sept. 28 and 29, and the parties agreed to an interest-based negotiation process, while both days saw a respectful exchange of common interests, a board report said.
Collaboratively, both committees reached a tentative agreement that included eight modifications to language in the document, the contract term, a monetary settlement, and six minor housekeeping items.
CUPE ratified the agreement in early November, while the board approved it during its recent meeting.
“(It was) a really respectful, fruitful, really good round of bargaining, which we’re happy to have gone in with good relationships and come out with the same good relationships,” said Amy Johnson, human resources manager. “It was a really good experience for everybody.”
Trustee Lew Young commended both parties’ good work and how quickly they agreed to a new agreement. Having been a trustee for many years, he thought it was “mind-boggling” how well both bargaining committees worked together and developed a new agreement.
He added that the board should send thank-you letters to both bargaining committees to show the board’s appreciation.
Ryan Boughen, director of education, thanked Johnson for her team’s work and commended CUPE’s executive team. He noted that the relationship between the two is less adversarial than before.
“It’s been a lot of work that Amy’s done to build that relationship, so it’s quite something that we have such a strong relationship with CUPE,” he added. “And that executive was fantastic. So, hat’s off to them, and it was a pleasure to work with them.”
The next PSSD meeting is Tuesday, Jan. 17.
