Bargaining team thanks members for strong support shown by 90 per cent ratification vote
“This agreement, while not perfect, was only possible because of the commitment of members across Ontario,” said David Lynch, chair of the OPSEU bargaining team. “I want to express my gratitude to all the members who joined information pickets, held rallies and gave our team the strong strike vote we had asked for. Without your support, and without the support we received from staff, board members, and the broader labour movement, we could never have reached this deal.”
The new agreement contains a 1.4 per cent wage increase in the second and third years of the deal, as well as a 1.4 per cent lump sum payment in the first year. It also includes improvements in union leave, benefits, and a new end-of-year shutdown that replaces the two floating holidays, for a net increase of a half-day paid leave each year.
“To achieve these improvements in a round of bargaining with an employer who seemed unwilling to compromise is a real testament to the work of the bargaining team, and to the strength of your entire membership,” said Warren (Smokey) Thomas, OPSEU President. “As we move forward under this new agreement, I commit to you that your union will continue to work with you to make sure this employer understands the real value that you deliver for this province, each and every day.”
Details of the agreement can be found in Issue 13 of Impact at the Table, released on June 17. The full Memorandum of Settlement is also available on the MPAC bargaining page of the OPSEU website.