ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — St. John’s city council has ratified a collective agreement between the city and CUPE Local 1289, which represents many city workers, including parking enforcement officers, administrative staff, planners, surveyors, waste management personnel and more.
Coun. Dave Lane, lead for finance, called it a “tough negotiation” and thanked city staff.
“We do really value our employees,” he said at the council meeting Monday, when council unanimously voted in favour of ratifying the agreement.
The agreement is in place until June 30, 2022.
Key terms in the agreement include no general increase, and no further severance accrual for employees hired after Dec. 4, 2019. There is a one-time payout option for severance accrued up to Dec. 31, 2018.
It also includes a signing bonus of $1,000.
A decision note to council says the severance deal will mean savings for the city, but it is difficult to quantify the amount because it depends on the number of employees who take a payout, among other factors.
“This deal does, however, cap the pool of employees eligible to accrue severance pay which in the long term eliminates the severance expense for the city,” reads the decision note.
