The Union of Northern Workers says early talks over a new collective agreement for thousands of GNWT employees have left union negotiators “deeply disappointed.”
The deal governing employment terms for thousands of GNWT staff lapsed at the end of March. Its terms will remain in place until a new agreement is signed.
It’s not uncommon for a new agreement to only be reached months – sometimes years – after the old one expired.
After three sets of meetings in July, the Union of Northern Workers told members late last week the GNWT “fell short” in its responses to date.
“The Employer simply has to do much better given they missed the mark these past few weeks. If we are to reach a deal that reflects the value of the work that members do, GNWT has to step up,” the union stated.
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The GNWT did not respond to a request for comment.
The union says it is proposing “critical workload and scheduling protections to target chronic short staffing,” more leave for staff, changes to the job classification system and a “comprehensive monetary package designed to keep pace with the ever-escalating cost of living,” the detail of which wasn’t made public.
Bargaining is set to continue in August.
