Photo by Whitehorse Star
Steve Geick and Catharine Read
Government employees ratify new contract
The Yukon government and its largest employee group have finalized a new collective agreement.
The Yukon government and its largest employee group have finalized a new collective agreement.
The employees, represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Yukon Employees Union (YEU), include most permanent employees with the exception of teachers, Steve Geick, the YEU's president, said today. (Teachers are represented by the Yukon Teachers' Association.)
The new agreement covers a three-year term, from Jan. 1, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2015.
It includes a salary increase of 5.75 per cent over the three years (two per cent in 2013 and 2014, 1.75 per cent in 2015).
Under the new agreement, the minimum annual salary for a Yukon government employee has increased to $42,357 as of January 2013.
The minimums will rise to $43,204 in 2014 and $43,960 in 2015.
The maximum salary this year is $123,425. Next year, it will climb to $125,894 and $128,097 in 2015.
The contract affects between 2,900 and 3,500 employees.
"I think we reached a good agreement,” Catharine Read, the territory's public service commissioner, said this morning.
"It took a little bit of work, probably longer than usual to come to the agreement, but I think both sides are happy and satisfied with it, and it should be a mutual benefit to both the employer, the Yukon government, and to the YEU.”
The two sides reached an impasse in April over hours of work for certain facilities and a special leave pilot project, Geick said.
But both issues were resolved before a mediator was assigned.
"Through the membership coming out and supporting the bargaining team and voicing their opinions that they didn't want their hours of work changed and that the special leave pilot project should remain in place, we were able to convey that to the government, and they took both issues off the table,” said Geick.
The special leave pilot project was agreed to in the previous agreement giving employees the flexibility to use six days of special leave a year.
Previously, it was dictated how many days an employee could use for specific needs like bereavement or health emergencies, but with the pilot project, the six days became flexible.
Read said the government didn't abandon its concerns about the program, noting a full review will be undertaken before the next contract negotiations.
"We want to ensure that the employees have the flexibility for using special leave, but on the other hand, we want to make sure that it's used for its intended purposes and the evaluation should help us,” she said.
Where the hours of work were concerned, the two sides reached an agreement and the hours remained the same.
Geick said it was an issue of work-life balance.
He noted the weekend and evening premiums were also raised to $1.50.
Among Read's highlights of the new collective agreement is a new joint committee that will explore health and safety concerns in rural community nursing.
And both she and Geick noted the new respectful work-place office process that is now entrenched in the agreement.
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Comments (13)
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Max Mack on Jul 29, 2013 at 8:56 am
The agreed-to increases are probably going to be less than inflation . . . which means government workers have just agreed to a decrease in wages.
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john jack on Jul 28, 2013 at 11:48 pm
bring the private sector up to the gov standards not bring gov down !!!!
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Incredible waste on Jul 26, 2013 at 11:30 am
Having been in Government and actually seen it work ... 80% is simply generating busy work and giving the appearance of doing something but if you were to examine if any of it makes the average citizen's life better ... the answer is "nope".
If the public actually saw what transpires on a day to day basis at great expense they would be truly shocked. I'm not talking about the men and women who actually interact with the public and deliver services (they actually get the short end of the stick) ... I'm talking about the Directors and ADMs and others of that ilk who spend their days planning their next vacation, all the while complaining about how stressed they are or as in the case of one person wrote a book at tax payer expense
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Josey Wales on Jul 26, 2013 at 8:25 am
Oh Marcy, your both trolling AND being silly.
There are INDEED some very hard working folks in "The Machine"...AND yes there is the exact opposite.
I say to those real workers (you know whom you are) enjoy the raise, to the others whom give not a rats ass? Enjoy your union entitlements and your colleagues whom pick up your slack...and yes you too know whom does...your ilk rely on folks as that.
Hence the term riding coat tails.
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Marcy on Jul 25, 2013 at 3:34 pm
YTG employees are slackers, From the premiers office down.
"There are some very qualified and hard working people working for government." hahahahaha... oh you were serious? My bad
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Stan collins on Jul 25, 2013 at 12:33 am
Government workers haters please think before you post.
For some gov positions, if you have a very good education- even a masters degree, you may not get an interview.
There are some very qualified and hard working people working for government.
The Public Service understands the need to keep wages in line with inflation and the benefit of having a good pension.
People who do not have these benefits should ask why they are settling for less and who is exploiting them.
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Jealous on Jul 24, 2013 at 5:29 am
Boo hoo. I just see a bunch of people that are jealous. When I first joined YTG almost 10 years ago we enjoyed over 3% a year in raises. Now we are lucky to get 2%. I know, we are greedy. No, far from it.
With the cost of living constantly going up, there is hardly anything called a raise anymore. And I take great offense to you clowns calling every government worker lazy and incompetent. I give my best everyday. I represent the Yukon. I don't sit at a desk. I'm on my feet all day working hard.
Yes, there are lazy people. They are everywhere, not just the government. Picking on the government is easy for you people. Because unlike the private sector, the terms of our contract including raises, is released to the media. Just because some government worker was a jerk to you, don't label all of us like that. It's not fair and I see it as a lapse in intelligence.
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Joel on Jul 24, 2013 at 5:24 am
Anyone can apply on these jobs so maybe some of you complaining should do that. Prove how much better you are than the incompetents. Personally, I am glad they got what they did and some of them deserve more (and some less I am sure)
Just to let you know, the pay is not quite as good as some of you think it is. Pay is normally better in private sector, benefits are normally better in public sector (assuming you have the skills for an equivalent job in either)
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Worker Bee on Jul 23, 2013 at 8:20 am
Anyone who begrudges public servants a 5% raise over 3 years has very little idea how government wages actually stack up. It's true that at the bottom end the public sector tends to pay a little more than private employers. But at middle levels and above, there are few public servants who couldn't be earning a lot more working outside government.
Remember that the YG employees include Ph.D geologists and other scientists, RNs, engineers, lawyers, librarians, accountants, etc. Do you really think they're in government jobs for the money?
And if your answer is that these professionals are incompetent, or couldn't get jobs elsewhere, or lazy, then I think the onus is on you to prove it. Until then, I prefer to give them the same respect I give anyone else who works for a living.
One last thing -- If you're envious of the benefits these particular workers get, maybe you should focus on the fact that they're unionized, rather than who their employer happens to be. In both public and private sectors, those with unions do better. And with very few exceptions, any workplace can be unionized. Go for it!
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June Jackson on Jul 23, 2013 at 5:34 am
I am glad they got this raise, though they'll see damned little of it between the union grabbing money, taxes, etc.
These are the people that buy the big houses..that employed a lot of people to build, that keep the expensive botiques in business, that buy the new vehicle. That actually negotiated for more money, for benefits.. People want to work for government, go upgrade at Yukon College, and put in applications.
Personally, I do not work for government, do I really want to put up with public sector crap? Provide service for someone that thinks I shouldn't have the job or am over paid for it? Be of service to someone who thinks "public servant" means be snide? rude? call me names? complain to my boss? I don't think so. But, I am very glad when they come in to the store I work in and spend money.
Rather than whine about what someone else has, why not go get it for yourself? There are people who shouldn't have the jobs they have..but its because they are crappy people.
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Josey Wales on Jul 23, 2013 at 12:36 am
Gee...at least the nobles get a raise.
Makes it more pleasant when mere peasants as I interact with them and they are not cranky but well fed and snacked up...rested from time off the toil...and awaiting their next run of days off.
Congratulations on your raise YG folks, I'm certain at least 10% of ya worked hard for it and your colleagues... the other 90% may appreciate it when they get their email of entitlements or sit at work to read the news...learning of it.
well...off to pick up beer cans to waste my money on food. Hopefully I won't wake any civil servants napping in the bush.
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jaz on Jul 22, 2013 at 3:59 pm
YTG employees need a Decrease in Pay, majority of them hate there jobs and it shows. Tons of Yukoners would LOVE to have there Cushy jobs
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Moose hide on Jul 22, 2013 at 2:42 pm
Benefits that yg employees receive are unjustifiable. The private sector is doomed. They will never be able to compete but at least they can sleep with a clear conscience .