CUPE Collective Agreement Ratified

We are pleased to announce that the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1858, the VIU Board of Governors and the Post-Secondary Employers Association Board of Directors have ratified a new collective agreement. This agreement was negotiated under the Province’s 2022 Shared Recovery Mandate. The ratified agreement covers over 400 employees who provide a variety of support and administrative services to faculty, service units and students at Vancouver Island University.

Some of the highlights of the agreement include

• Introduction of mental health benefits
• Improvement to benefits and qualification for benefits coverage
• New cultural leaves
• Increased vacation for employees with more than 20 years of service
• Pay in lieu of benefits for casuals
• Improvements to the grievance and layoff processes

General wage increases and term are in accordance with the 2022 Shared Recovery Mandate and are as follows:

• Three-year term – July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2025
• General wage increases
• Year 1 – a flat increase of $0.25/hour which provides a greater increase for lower paid employees, plus a 3.24%
• Year 2 – 5.5% plus a potential Cost of Living Adjustment to a maximum of 6.75% (Maximum 6.75% triggered as of March 21, 2023)
• Year 3 – 2% plus a potential Cost of Living Adjustment to a maximum of 3%

Both parties would once again like to thank both bargaining teams and all involved in the bargaining process. All parties were committed to an efficient and collaborative process. The resulting agreement contains many improvements that will benefit both CUPE and VIU as well as our students and the broader university community.

If you have any questions about the agreement or the bargaining process, please contact CUPE President, Tiffany McLaughlin or Director of Employee Relations, Patricia Elliott.