Muskoka ACS Members Ratify New Agreement

Muskoka ACS members ratify average wage gains of 20%

Members at Muskoka ACS, who work as ambulance communication officers, ratified a collective agreement with groundbreaking wage increases and more.

With the assistance of a Ministry of Labour Conciliation Officer, the Union Negotiating Committee secured substantial wage gains and an agreement that has the flexibility to ensure any pending arbitration outcomes could easily be worked into future wage grids. The increases achieved in this agreement are substantially higher than equivalent employees for direct public service and those employees in smaller dispatch centres like Muskoka.

The major wage grid adjustments contained in this agreement follow arbitrated amounts for the sector plus immediate term increases. As a result, the members at Muskoka ACS will see an average increase of 20%, which amounts to $11 or more per hour for those employees at end rate. The Union Negotiating Committee also secured improved premiums for night shifts, which account for half of all shifts.

Further monetary improvements will see Maternity Leave top up increase to 80% for full-time, and part-time will now receive this top up as well. Eye exam coverage will also go up, helping to put even more money back in the members’ pockets.

Going forward, overtime pay for all statutory holidays increases to two times the rate of pay plus holiday pay, and any shifts worked on Christmas, Boxing Day, and New Years Day will also be paid double time. Now, members can also take more holiday stat time in lieu, which can also increase their total paid time off.

Members will benefit from a new vacation selection process that ensures senior members get the first opportunity to select but that also ensures all members get a chance at preferred dates. Plus, vacation entitlement improves to provide 30 hours more, for a total of 126 hours, per year for those employees with one to four years’ service.

Part-time employees moving to full-time will carry more seniority based on total hours divided by full-time hours. And a meal allowance will now apply when officers are required to work with less than a full complement.

Union Negotiating Committee: Ryan Kennedy, Jamie Lee Reay, and Union Representative Richard Eberhardt.

Interested in reading about more negotiations in the hospitality sector at UFCW 175? Click here.

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