First contract ratified by healthcare workers at The Royal Henley
September 26, 2022
On September 23, 2022, members at The Royal Henley in St. Catharines ratified their first collective agreement by 98%.
The Union Negotiating Committee worked hard to achieve a good agreement to present to the members for ratification. The three-year agreement includes significant first-year wage increases, paid retroactive for hours worked since August 1, 2022, of:
- 10% for Personal Support Workers (PSWs);
- 6% for Housekeeping;
- 5% for Dishwashers, and;
- 5% for Servers.
All other classifications will receive retroactive pay of 2% in the first year. In year two and year three, all bargaining unit members at The Royal Henley will receive general wage increases of 2%. Existing members classified as Unregulated Healthcare Providers (UCPs), will continue to receive wages at time and a half until December 2023 at which time they, and all new UCP hired as of ratification, will receive a premium of 90 cents per hour over their regular rate.
In addition to establishing seniority by date of hire, and language for a grievance and arbitration procedure, the collective agreement includes a number of other improvements as well.
Members will now receive overtime pay after eight hours per day, or 80 hours bi-weekly. Members with seven years of service or more will receive a float day in the third year of the contract. Plus, members benefit from now being able to roll over unused sick time to a maximum of eight days, or receive a 40% payout which was an already established practice.
In addition, the employer agreed to contribute 1 cent per hour worked toward the UFCW Local 175 Training & Education Fund.
The Royal Henley employs approximately 30 full-time, 11 part-time, and 49 casual workers who are covered by this first collective agreement.
Union Negotiating Committee: Tamara Broczowski, Charity Crowder, and Laura Laister; HOPE Sector LTC/Retirement Homes Director, Sandra Ashcroft.
Members at the Royal Henley voted to join UFCW Local 175 in November 2021.
Want to learn more about how healthcare workers can benefit from joining UFCW Local 175? Read negotiation results from across the healthcare sector here.
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