Calgary shelter staff receive a 7.5% salary increase in new agreement.

Earlier this month, the Mediation Services department of Alberta Jobs, Economy, and Trade released the Bargaining Update for March 2025.


This monthly report offers insights into the unionized workforce in Alberta. In March, Mediation Services gathered information about 14 settlements in the private sector and 23 in the public sector, affecting 1,560 and 12,565 workers, respectively. Notable among these settlements is a contract for approximately 80 employees at the Fear is Not Love Society, formerly known as the Calgary Women's Emergency Shelter.
These workers are represented by Local 4731 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, encompassing roles such as counselors, therapists, receptionists, kitchen staff, and early childhood educators. Their previous contract lapsed in December 2023, and this new agreement was finalized just last month, over a year after the prior contract expired. The new collective agreement has a duration of three years, mirroring the length of the last contract. Under the new contract, workers will receive annual wage increases as follows: - 2.00% effective January 1, 2024 - 3.00% effective January 1, 2025 - 2.50% effective January 1, 2026 This totals a 7.5% increase throughout the three years, translating to an average annual raise of 2.5%. This is an improvement compared to their last contract, and it surpasses the increases provided in the previous two agreements: - May 1, 2019: 0.00% - May 1, 2020: 0.00% - May 1, 2021: 0.00% - January 1, 2022: 1.00% - January 1, 2023: 1.50% During that time, inflation in Alberta rose by 14.07%, resulting in a real wage reduction of 11.57% across the last two contracts. While the new 7.5% increase will help, it may not suffice to fully compensate for the lost real wages.

Additionally, ongoing inflation during the contract period is likely to widen the existing gap between their earnings and their needs. For instance, inflation in Alberta from January 2023 to January 2025 was recorded at 5.98%, which could diminish the gains from the new contract. With more inflation anticipated in the following years, further challenges lie ahead. Here's an overview of the key changes from the previous collective agreement to the new one: - A land acknowledgment has been incorporated into the agreement. - Two new worker classifications have been introduced: seconded workers and floaters. Seconded workers are those assigned temporarily to a different role, while floaters are part-time counselors guaranteed between 18 and 24 hours of work per week to provide both regular and on-demand support. Seconded workers will continue to accumulate seniority rights and retain all entitlements related to their seconded role, including the right to return to their original position and wage rate. New clauses addressing harassment and violence were added to the discrimination article: - 5.02 Harassment: No employee shall face harassment, defined as objectionable conduct or comments that can cause offense or humiliation. Reasonable managerial or supervisory directions do not count as harassment. - 5.03 Violence: No employee shall endure workplace violence, which includes any actions that could cause physical or psychological harm, such as physical aggression and threats. All incidents will be reported accordingly to the Occupational Health and Safety Committee or Human Resources. The resignation section has two new clauses: 1. If an employee resigns voluntarily and is later rehired within the bargaining unit, they will forfeit all seniority rights according to Clause 11.03(b). Seniority and entitlements will be recalculated based on their rehire date, and a probationary period will apply. 2. After giving written notice of resignation, employees cannot take any Vacation Leave or Well-being Days, except those previously approved, nor can they take other time off without supervisor approval, barring emergencies. Employees will now lose seniority if they take a non-job-protected leave of absence that lasts more than 52 consecutive weeks. In the previous contract, counselors and therapists working in community services adhered to a five-day, 7-hour working schedule or an 8.75-hour schedule spread over four days. This has now been extended to apply to all counselors and therapists except for shelter counselors. The provision for paid meal breaks for shelter counselors and early childhood workers who worked at least 5 hours has been modified from 1 hour to 1 hour for a 7-hour shift. Regarding authorized overtime, employees may be eligible for additional compensation when overtime is pre-approved or directed by the employer. Clear definitions have been established for authorized and directed overtime. Employees working beyond their regular hours without authorization will be paid at their standard rate unless they exceed 12 hours in one day or 44 hours in one week. Part-time, relief, and temporary workers are not eligible for overtime unless their hours surpass those of full-time workers in the same classification. Additionally, any employee may accept extra shifts offered by the employer, paid at their regular rate, up to a total of 44 hours per week. The employer reserves the right to deny such requests to avoid triggering overtime compensation. The section concerning personal leave has been relabeled as sick leave. Following their probationary period, full-time employees may take up to 3 sick days as well-being days per year, while part-time workers can take 1 day, increasing to 8 and 6 days, respectively, after one year of service. Sick leave can be taken in full or half-day increments. If an employee exceeds three consecutive sick days, a doctor's note is required. For absences over 30 days, a doctor's note certifying fitness to return is also necessary, with the employer covering the cost of the note. A new provision for study leave states that requests for educational leave linked to an employee's position will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the Chief Executive Officer or their designate, with applications needing to be submitted four weeks in advance. Regarding parental leave, employees must now provide a minimum of 30 days' written notice for Maternity, Paternity, or Adoption Leave prior to starting the leave, indicating the expected start date. In cases where this notice cannot be given, additional provisions will apply, including arrangements for Long-Term Disability Benefits. Workers are now entitled to 10 days of domestic violence leave, with medical documentation required for any leave extending beyond three days. Under the new agreement, workers may opt to allocate their RRSP contributions to a tax-free savings account instead, maintaining the 4% rate, available exclusively to permanent employees. Employees using their personal vehicles for work will be reimbursed for mileage. The night shift premium has increased from $2.00 per hour to $2.50 during the midnight to 08:45 window. Finally, the probationary period for new workers can now be extended by an additional 90 days, contingent on union approval.