Saskatoon city council approves new 5-year contract with transit workers

Saskatoon Transit workers ratified a new five-year contract with the city on Monday. At a special meeting Tuesday, city council unanimously approved the new contract. (Chanss Lagaden/CBC - image credit)
Saskatoon Transit workers ratified a new five-year contract with the city on Monday. At a special meeting Tuesday, city council unanimously approved the new contract. (Chanss Lagaden/CBC - image credit)

Saskatoon city council has approved a new five-year deal with transit workers.

Members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 615 approved the agreement in a vote Monday night, and at a special meeting on Tuesday afternoon, city council voted 11-0 in favour.

The new deal provides a 2.5 per cent annual wage increase in the contract's first three years, rising to three per cent annually for the final two years, according to a report included in the agenda for Tuesday's council meeting.

The contract also recognizes the Sept. 30 National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a statutory holiday for transit workers, increases night shift differential pay and adds two paid days for interpersonal violence leave, in addition to the legislated minimum five days.

Earlier this year, bus drivers raised safety concerns after a series of violent incidents on city buses, including four assaults that sent passengers to hospital in May. Drivers also expressed concerns about violence directed at them while on the job.

The new contract doesn't include any new measures for driver safety, but the revisions to the collective agreement state the city "has implemented a number of measures to date," and is "committed to continued collaboration and communication with the union on initiatives and strategies that are focused on protecting the safety and well-being of employees."

Collective bargaining started in February. Transit workers rejected the first tentative agreement in September, but the two sides reached a new tentative deal on Oct. 1.