Unionized workers reach tentative deal with Metro Vancouver Regional District
Posted November 3, 2023 10:09 am.
The union that represents some 670 unionized Metro Vancouver Regional District workers says it reached a tentative deal with the employer early Friday morning.
In a statement, the Greater Vancouver Regional District Employees’ Union (GVRDEU) — which represents employees in watershed management, water distribution, water treatment and disinfection, wastewater collection and treatment, affordable housing, regional parks, and air quality monitoring — says the 19-month long bargaining with the employer ended at 4 a.m.
“Details of the tentative agreement will be communicated to the members in the very near future by the Bargaining Committee,” the GVRDEU said.
“A ratification vote will be held in the near future, at a time and date to be determined. The Employer will also need to ratify the tentative agreement,” it continued.
Workers voted to strike in September, saying the regional district was “demanding concessions to hours of work, short-term illness and injury health plan, and [asking] that the Union forgo its fair wage settlement protection under the collective agreement.”
The union initiated job action at the beginning of October, with picket lines temporarily erected at wastewater sites across the region.
While the details of the agreement are yet to be publicly announced, the regional district was offering the union a wage increase of 11.5 per cent over three years, a one-time lump sum of $2,350, and other improvements to allowances and benefits.
“[It] is fair and reasonable and aligned with other negotiated settlements in the region,” the regional district said in September.
