Local 815 Bargaining Update - July 2023

As many are aware, ONA has been in the news lately regarding their collective agreement. The 11% pay increase is a recent arbitration award for ONA nurses for their 2023-2024 round of bargaining. OCHU/CUPE is already hard at work preparing for our next round of bargaining that will cover the contract that expires September 2023. The arbitrator was very sympathetic to the needs of Ontario hospitals in this award, and we can only assume he will be the same when it comes to the CUPE award. Cupe/OCHU were recently awarded a total wage increase of 8.25% over two years through interest arbitration (2021-2023 contract). On top of that, RPNs were awarded a $2 an hour increase and there were several shift premium increases for all classifications. Our local is not part of central bargaining and is classified as a non-participating local. That being said, all non-participating locals were instructed to wait for the central bargaining award, as this sets a benchmark for Cupe workers in the industry in terms of monetary increases. Now that this award is out there, we can negotiate monetary increases with our employer, through local bargaining. We are currently scheduled to meet with the employer on August 8, through our local bargaining process. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic and Bill 124, this round of bargaining has taken a very long time. Because Bill 124 was ruled unconstitutional, Cupe/OCHU had to go through the interest arbitration process for a second time to get this award. All that takes time, and it has paid off. Although we are not in central bargaining, this award is now an industry standard, and we are very likely and hopeful to attain this through our bargaining process. There are other items that we need to address through bargaining, both monetary and non-monetary and that cannot be rushed. Our goal is to get the best possible deal that we can for our members, and we are prepared to see that through if we cannot agree on a deal with our employer. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through this process. Please keep in mind that any percentage wage increases will very likely be retroactive for the term of the agreement, regardless of when we resolve our contract. We will update our membership in September at our GMM which will be held in Milton on September 6 at 7:00pm.