Initial offer of $0.10 per hour sweetened to $0.70: OPSEU
One week before they could have taken strike action, more than 300 employees of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) at Central West Specialized Developmental Services in Oakville, Ont., reached a tentative collective agreement Aug. 29.
The members of OPSEU Local 249 had been working without a contract since March 2016.
At the heart of the dispute was a wage offer from management amounting to a $0.10 per hour increase. If ratified, the tentative collective agreement will see workers' wages increase by $0.70 an hour before the two-year deal expires on March 31, 2018, said the union.
"Our members were genuinely insulted when management came to the table offering a dime more an hour," said Terry Kirkelos, Local 249 vice-president. "To see that increased to $0.70 is a real victory."
Workers also saw some improvements to their benefits package, including a three-cent increase in their travel allowance, from $0.39 a kilometre to $0.42, according to OPSEU.
A ratification vote is scheduled for Aug. 31.
