After 15 months of bargaining, Vancouver Community College and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 4627 have reached a tentative new collective agreement.
According to CUPE, the bargaining parties reached a tentative agreement yesterday afternoon for “a four-year, no-concessions deal” with a 4% wage increase over the two final years. The union noted that there were no wage increases over the first two years under the provincial government’s Net Zero Mandate.
The agreement must still be ratified by CUPE members and the college board. A union ratification vote is scheduled for March 12.
The agreement comes on the heels of four months of strike action by the 420 CUPE members at VCC that included an overtime ban, a three-day all-out strike and department-by-department shutdowns at the college’s two Vancouver campuses.
Jo Hansen, CUPE 4627 chief shop steward, said the sticking point for the union was always government demands for concessions.
“Our members understand how important it has been to stay strong and united to defend our hard-won benefits, especially against proposed changes to our prescription drug plan,” he said. “The agreement comes as we were preparing for a month-long withdrawal of services in continuing studies that was set to start on March 1.”
