MPI employees head back to work
Advertisement
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/11/2023 (915 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
MGEU members from MPI have voted to accept the settlement reached on Tuesday.
A tentative agreement between the MGEU and MPI was reached Tuesday, only hours after employees had returned to the picket line.
Union members had overwhelming rejected an earlier offer that included a 12.2 percent wage increase over four years including three percent for 2022, three percent for 2023, 2.9 percent in 2024 and 3.3 percent in 2025.
Under that proposal more than 60 percent of members would also receive an additional 3.5 percent wage increase over the life of the contract and employees would get a one-time lump sum bonus of $1,800. That number would be pro-rated for part-time employees.
Union president Kyle Ross refused to endorse that proposal, but has recommended the latest offering to his members.
“We are pleased that our bargaining committee and MPI were able to reach an agreement that will help all members catch up and keep up with the rising cost of living,” he said. “This is an agreement that we are proud to recommend to our members.”
The agreement includes total wage increases of 13 percent over four years including three percent for 2022, three percent for 2023, 3.4 percent for 2024 and 3.6 percent for 2025.
The last two years include retention adjustment increases.
More than 60 percent of members will receive an additional 3.5 percent wage increase over the life of the contract from a new maximum increment step for each pay grade.
Members will get a one-time lump sum signing bonus of $1,800 per full time employee and members will receive two weeks pay labelled “recognition pay” to acknowledge the more than three weeks of the strike during which no negotiations were possible because a new government was being sworn in.
The strike has been ongoing since Aug. 28, and had entered its tenth week. That’s one of the longest strikes in the union’s history.
The MGEU announced late Wednesday that union members had accepted the offer.