( CHAT News file photo)

By Tiffany Goodwein

deal ratified

CUPE Local 46 and City of Medicine Hat reach collective agreement

Aug 17, 2020 | 9:44 PM

MEDICINE HAT – The union that represents hundreds of municipal employees and the City of Medicine Hat have ratified a new collective agreement.

The collective agreement between CUPE Local 46 and the City of Medicine Hat spans from January 1 2020 to December 31 2022.

The two sides have agreed to a zero per cent wage increase for 2020 through to 2021 and a two per cent wage increase effective January 1 2022.

“ This is a significant move on the part of CUPE 46 and the City of Medicine Hat in settling with the bargaining groups early on and all of it being done in a very difficult environment of COVID-19, and some of the challenges that have come out of that,” Coun. Robert Dumanowski said during Monday’s Council meeting.

Approximately 700 employees are affected by the new agreement.

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Mayor Ted Clugston said the agreement between the city and the union came swiftly.

“People are pushing us to obviously contain costs around here, and I can not say enough about CUPE coming forward and ratifying this deal. It’s been a lot of zeros over the past few years for a lot of people,” Clugston said.

“ I think the message is getting out that we all have to work together, and this is council and management and unions working together. I’m actually quite happy,” he added.

Contract ratification meetings were held on August 11 and August 13 at the Esplanade Main Theatre.