The town of Collingwood has reached an agreement with its unionized workers in the Environmental Services water division.
The town’s human resources manager Melissa McCuaig, delivered a report to council on Monday night (Aug. 27) to present the terms negotiated and have council adopt the renewed collective agreement.
There are 12 water unit employees working for the town of Collingwood and represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 636. The employees have been part of the town’s staff contingent since 2016, but this is the first time the town has negotiated a collective agreement.
The previous agreement was negotiated with their former employer Collus PowerStream Corp and Collingwood Public Utilities and was in effect from Sept. 1, 2013, to Aug. 31, 2017.
The town has since taken over water operations in the town and therefore the 12 employees in the water unit.
According to McCuaig, the town’s negotiation team aims to provide parity in all the bargaining units at the town wherever possible.
The new agreement includes general wage increases of 1.7 per cent retroactive to Sept. 1, 2017 (the end of the last agreement), 1.9 per cent on Sept. 1, 2018, and Sept. 1, 2019, and 1.8 per cent for Sept. 1, 2020.
The agreement will also bring overtime wages to parity with other employee groups in the town.
According to McCuaig’s report, IBEW Water members met and ratified the Memorandum of Settlement on June 27, 2018.
