Council asked to approve increases to Staff wages

The collective bargaining agreements between the Town of Cobourg and CUPE expired on December 31, 2021 and new agreements were reached on the 2nd of June 2022.  The agreement is for a 9% increase spread over 3 years at 3% per year with an effective date of January 1, 2022.   In addition benefits will go up 2%.  Council have no doubt been discussing this in their many closed door sessions so this will not be news.  I expect that they will therefore approve the increases at their CoW Council meeting on July 11.  In addition, non-union wages will increase by the same amount “to ensure that internal equity is maintained across positions and workgroups”.  The financial impact is significant but it seems that the current budget anticipated this increase although the motion before council does not specify what the dollar budget impact is.

Summary of Changes

Although the new full agreement has not been published, some highlights have been provided.

Monetary

The settlement is for a three (3) year contract with increases as follows:

  • January 1, 2022 3%
  • January 1, 2023 3%
  • January 1, 2024 3%

Also other increases:

  • Meal allowance
  • Shift premiums
  • Extended health benefits: Hearing aids, Chiropractic care, Psychotherapist, Psychologist or Counsellor

Non-Monetary

  • Updated language in regards to gender preferences, grammatical changes, postings, shift schedules, and correction of position titles and general terms.
  • Movement of vacation time to a calendar year.
  • Increase of vacation to four (4) weeks after six (6) years of service.
  • Timelines for schedules and shift changes.
  • Sick time and wellness support.

No further details are provided and the new agreement is not available – maybe because Council has not yet approved it?  See Resources below for the superseded agreement.

These changes will also apply to non-union and management salaries but I believe Police and Firefighters are separate.

Resources

Report on Cobourg News Blog about previous contract agreement

Update

At the Committee of the Whole (CoW) Council meeting on 11 July, there was considerable debate about tying the non-union staff increase to the union increase.  But in the end, the motion tying the two together as described above was approved.

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Two cents worth
1 year ago

Let’s let the employees of Cobourg have a decent living wage…remember if you pay peanuts you get monkeys…

Dunkirk
Reply to  Two cents worth
1 year ago

Our Councilors are more generous giving away our money than other communities and we must have have much better monkeys than Barrie whose CUPE Union just settled for the following:

1.8 per cent (July 1, 2022); 2 per cent (Jan. 1, 2023); 2 per cent (Jan 1, 2024); and 2 per cent (Jan. 1, 2025). 

Kidding aside–once a contract is ratified watch out for ‘re-organizations’; job re-classifications & pay equity adjustments. Those union wage adjustments are contributing reasons we had 3 people on the Sunshine list in 2012 and now we have 58….

Leweez
Reply to  Dunkirk
1 year ago

Of those 58 people that were on the sunshine list last year, not one employee is from the CUPE contract that we are discussing.
All 58 are either police officers, firefighters or non union staff.
Maybe you should direct your disdain towards them?

Dunkirk
Reply to  Leweez
1 year ago

Leweez—what I am saying is that CUPE contract or not, there are additional ways that all public servants can use to increase their wages. Yes–it’s pretty standard that our Protection Services ask for 8%+ budget increases every year(the majority to wages); our Councilors have Cost-of-living…..our CAO just did a $1mm ‘re-organization'(how many pay decreases resulted from that?)
unionized or not….it all comes from the same place….and they are approving each other’s…..

Leweez
Reply to  Dunkirk
1 year ago

What I noticed from the CAO’s reorganization was the hiring of more managers who are non union employees.
Did she hire more union staff that I missed?

Informed
Reply to  Dunkirk
1 year ago

Have you any idea the number employees that leave for better pay at other municipalities?

Concerned
Reply to  Informed
1 year ago

There must be departures due to Salary, the newly hired Economic Development Manager is re-advertised, the planning Manager still isn’t hired and is on its second go around of advertising, I haven’t seen the Engineering Assistant Manager announced as hired yet so it does feel like to me that we aren’t very competitive with say Durham and surrounding areas or even the smaller municipality of Port Hope. Their CAO makes almost 20k more than ours and it appears most of their managers and directors make more than Cobourg.

Last edited 1 year ago by Concerned
Informed
Reply to  Concerned
1 year ago

I think you’re right.

Kathleen
1 year ago

Raise your children and their children to work in Govt office – one of very few businesses to still have a Union. Even if they turn out to be non-performing slackers, they will still reap the same benefits as those that work hard. On the other hand, jobs do keep the economy going.
Like my mum used to say, “Unions are a necessary Evil in life”.

Last edited 1 year ago by Kathleen
Merle Gingrich
Reply to  Kathleen
1 year ago

Kathleen, I born and raised as a Mennonite and 70 years ago if you joined a union you were kicked out of the church, I can appreciate their wisdom, although it may not apply today. Unions are an evil but not necessary.

Informed
Reply to  Kathleen
1 year ago

Unions exist in many companies and industries other than in Government. These unions fought to protect workers from being taken advantage of as far as wages and benefits. They also helped bring in many health and Safety initiatives that employers ignored many years ago. Unions were also necessary to ensure people could make a decent standard of living working 5 days a week instead of 7.

Kathleen
Reply to  Informed
1 year ago

I don’t disagree. If you’re lucky enough to work for a Union, you’ll reap all the benefits – even if you don’t perform as well as others. In Private industry, you can get fired much more easily than if you are in a Union. In some cases this is a good thing. And in some cases it isn’t.

Informed
Reply to  Kathleen
1 year ago

I dont much believe in luck. I like to think many people set goals…work towards them..work hard and are employed in their chosen field, if fortunate. Some are unionized and some are not. Unionized or not ‘, all have their pros and cons.

Cobourg taxpayer
1 year ago

I believe there are a few staff members who have earned a salary increase but I have called city hall a few times in the last year and no one answers the phone, I’ve left messages and no one calls back. Apparently everyone is still working from home? Most do not deserve this increase. Additionally staff work a 35 hour week, most in the private sector work a 40 hour. If you work a 35 hour week your pay should reflect that. Town staff positions are very secure why the need for wellness support and is the sick time mentioned increasing, if so to what. I remember the engineering department asking for increased staff as 30% were sick at any given time. Seems the public servants are a very sickly bunch. The multiple town of Cobourg trucks I see driving around, are doing exactly that, driving around. I’d like to see more working.

Drew
Reply to  Cobourg taxpayer
1 year ago

As I understand it, the engineering department only has 3 employees.
If 30% of them are off, that would amount to 1 person.

Kevin
Reply to  Drew
1 year ago

Cobourg taxpayer wrote, “30% were sick at any given time.” To me that means anytime, or all times, 30% were sick. Every day 1 of the 3 employees would be sick. That is 80 of 240 working days (52 weeks – 2 weeks statutory and 2 weeks other holidays) per employee. Every working day only 2 of the 3 would be working. That seems like a lot of sick time to me but maybe I misunderstand.

Cobourg taxpayer
Reply to  Kevin
1 year ago

That is correct that is what I heard at the budget meeting and I was shocked. the head of the department said she had 10 employees beneath her and 30% were sick at any given time. See reply above for details.

Last edited 1 year ago by Cobourg taxpayer
Cobourg taxpayer
Reply to  Drew
1 year ago

At a town council budget meeting a few years the head of a department said she had 10 employees beneath her, that on any given day 30% were off sick leaving her with roughly 7 employees, that the department had not hired new employees in a few years therefore she needed more employees. The town of Cobourg organizational chart has been reworked and added to a great deal since then so it is highly unlikely there are fewer employees or even fewer sickly employees. Departments have been added too, renamed etc. Laurie Wills should remember the layout of the department and the comment made. Another example of public servants illness is St Mary’s Catholic HS in Cobourg, on any given day roughly 30% are off sick. The number of Town of Cobourg police officers sick on any given day is high as well.

Drew
Reply to  Cobourg taxpayer
1 year ago

Ms. Wills is the director of public works.
That includes engineering, roads and sewers and several other office staff.
You said the engineering department had 30% sick. My statement is based on your original assertion about that department.

Leweez
1 year ago

Well, that was good of our council members to hold municipal workers to a 3% wage increase while they, themselves, quietly accept a 6.91% COLA increase.
Hypocrites!!

ben
1 year ago

I can’t wait for the taxfighter’s reactions to this one!!

Wally Keeler
Reply to  ben
1 year ago

Never mind them, what is your reaction?

ben
Reply to  Wally Keeler
1 year ago

earned and deserved Wally, all workers have lost wages due to inflation over the many past years, now is the time to catch up!

Merle Gingrich
Reply to  ben
1 year ago

Ben, how about we tax payers, who’s going to catch us up on inflation?

Sandpiper
Reply to  Merle Gingrich
1 year ago

I asked a similar question a few weeks back
some body responded that all our OAS, CPP ODSP etc etc
were indexed increases May be if you can find them they are so small
but nothing like this and no other benefits

Concerned
Reply to  Sandpiper
1 year ago

Wait until you see the indexation rate for this year being someone who receives two separate federal indexation pensions it is going to be over 4 almost 5 per cent if not more depending on what happens with inflation for June Jul and August.

Last edited 1 year ago by Concerned
Informed
Reply to  ben
1 year ago

Doesnt ” catching up” contribute to more inflation?

Sandpiper
Reply to  ben
1 year ago

What Tax fighters
most have died off or gone full retirement
No new younger people or new residents have stepped up
Same goes for the Homeless issue plenty of deligations for them
but next to No Taxpayers appeared other than on this site