Unionized workers reach three-year wage deal with City and District of North Van

The agreement includes wage hikes of 3%, 4.5% and 4 %, with extra one-time top-up of 4.5%

Unionized workers at the City and District of North Vancouver have reached deals for collective agreements that provide a series of wage increases over the next three years.

The three-year deals between Canadian Union of Public Employee (CUPE) workers and both North Vancouver municipal governments provide a retroactive wage increase of three per cent in 2022, 4.5 per cent in 2023 and four per cent in 2024. The deal also comes with a one-time 4.5 per cent “inflationary support payment” applied on top of 2022 wages.

CUPE, representing unionized workers at both municipalities, announced the deals in a press release.

“Our members, like all residents in this region, face affordability challenges. For many this has intensified with the recent increase to the cost of living,” said CUPE 389 president Yvette Mercier in a press statement.

Other provisions in the deals include new funding for mental health services, access to domestic or sexual violence leave, and the addition of a temporary part-time job classification at the City of North Vancouver. At the District of North Vancouver, provisions in the new deal include full coverage of dental and extended health premiums, and an increase to mental health coverage.

There are about 400 unionized CUPE workers at the City of North Vancouver, and about 475 unionized CUPE workers at the District of North Vancouver. Workers at the North Vancouver Recreation Commission, North Shore Neighbourhood House and municipal libraries are covered by separate collective agreements.

The City of North Vancouver adopted its 2023 budget in the spring, which included an average tax increase of 5.24 per cent. The average tax increase in the District of North Vancouver was similar at 5.25 per cent.

In West Vancouver, the municipality is currently still in contract negotiations with its unionized employees.

In the last contract, which covered the period between January 2021 and December 2022, wage increases for workers represented by the West Vancouver Municipal Employees Association were two per cent in 2021 and two per cent in 2022.

jseyd@nsnews.com