Vancouver's Pay Boost for Unionized Staff Increases Budget Pressures

Unionized workers at the City of Vancouver have approved a new contract that will see pay grow by more than 8.5 per cent over two years.

Members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 15, which represents roughly 3,500 administrative, educational and parks staff at the city, voted last week to ratify a collective agreement that includes a significant wage boost and two separate lump sum payments.

Union leader Warren Williams says the generous package reflects high inflation and fierce competition for staff, who haven’t seen a raise since their last agreement expired on Dec. 31, 2022.

The union’s deal includes a 4.5 per cent salary increase in 2023 followed by a four per cent increase in 2024. The increases are both based on the 2022 rates and are compounded.

Members will also get a lump sum “recognition payment” equivalent to one per cent of all straight-time wages they earned this year up to Nov. 16, the date CUPE members voted to ratify the agreement.

And there’s a second “retention payment” equal to 3.5 per cent of all straight-time wages they earned in 2022, which will be paid to active employees early next year.

Wages under the old contract ranged from $21 to $70 an hour.

The settlement comes as the city released its 2024 budget proposal, which calls for a tax increase of 7.6 per cent on top of last year’s 10.7 per cent jump.

The proposal was prepared before the new contract. “As of budget publication, the city is in the process of reaching agreements with some of the city’s bargaining units,” the draft budget says. “As it is expected that these agreements will be negotiated within the regional municipal pattern, they will be a major driver for Operating Budget increases in 2024.”

The new deal will cover only 2023 and 2024, meaning CUPE 15 could be back at the bargaining table with the city in months.

“I prefer a longer-term agreement, just for stability,” Williams said. “But I think this could be beneficial to both the employer and the union this time around.”

The contract includes other improvements, including making the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30 an official holiday. Union members also won a boost to clinical psychologist coverage and a commitment to explore the possibility of a long-term disability plan.

The pay boost is no surprise to Williams or to city officials.

The city’s latest budget noted “recent compensation increases in public sector collective agreements have been above historical levels, driven in part by recent inflation.”

CUPE 15’s last deal with the city included the equivalent of three consecutive pay boosts of two per cent in 2020, 2021 and 2022, which Williams said was less than some other Metro Vancouver municipalities.

“It really has to do with recruitment and retention,” Williams said. “The City of Vancouver and other municipalities are constantly in competition with each other to bring folks in.”

What’s not immediately clear is how that will affect taxpayers or the city’s spending.

Vancouver’s chief human resources officer, Andrew Naklicki, confirmed in a statement that the contract had been ratified by the city’s council.

But city staff did not answer questions on how much those lump sum payments would cost the municipality or how much the salary raises would increase payroll expenses.

In an email, one city communications staffer said they were “still working through the impact.”

ABC Mayor Ken Sim has promised to scrutinize spending and appointed a task force last year composed mostly of business leaders whom he charged with reviewing the city’s budget to find cost savings.

That committee was supposed to deliver a report no later than Oct. 3. But it is expected the report will now be released only on Nov. 28, a week before the city releases its draft budget for the coming year.

Green Coun. Pete Fry, one of three city councillors not part of Sim’s ABC party, said he believes that document could define the city’s budget and argues it should have been released to the public sooner.

“The non-ABC councillors and the public and City of Vancouver staff haven’t had a chance to see it. And it has the potential to radically shape the draft budget that staff are presenting to us,” Fry said.

Sim’s office said he was not available for an interview and did not respond to followup questions.