AUPE members employed by Saddle Hills County to vote on mediator’s recommendation
SPIRIT RIVER – Approximately 40 employees of Saddle Hills County in northwest Alberta will have an opportunity to vote on a mediator’s recommended terms of settlement for a three-year collective agreement.
The Bargaining Committee for Alberta Union of Provincial Employees Local 118/006 is recommending that the members ratify the agreement recommended by provincially appointed Mediator Klaus Opatril on Monday, said Staff Negotiator Jim Petrie.
The mediator’s recommended terms of settlement include pay increases of 2.75 per cent in the first year, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2010, 3.25 per cent in the second year and 3.5 in the third year, with the agreement expiring on Dec. 31, 2012.
Both the employer and the members of the union must ratify the agreement before it can take effect. Both parties have until Sept. 15 to report back to the mediator.
“This proposed agreement doesn’t reflect everything our members were asking for but it is within the pattern of other agreements for employees of similar municipalities who do the same kind of work,” said Petrie, who led the union’s bargaining team.
“We urge the employer to ratify what is the best prospect for an agreement between Saddle Hills and its employees,” said Petrie. “This agreement can carry both parties through the next couple of years until we have a reasonable prospect of seeing improvement in the economy.”
Saddle Hills County, which has its headquarters in the town of Spirit River, is about 450 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
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