SGI, union ratify collective agreement
Members of the Canadian Office and Professional Employees (COPE) Union, Local 397, have ratified a new collective agreement with Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) after a tentative agreement was reached in late July.
The new agreement includes a 7.5 per cent general wage increase over four years (1 per cent, 3 per cent, 1.5 per cent, 2 per cent), with retroactive pay from Jan. 1, 2010.
“Reaching an agreement with COPE provides stability for our unionized employees, customers and company as a whole,” said Andrew Cartmell, President and CEO of SGI. “We value our employees’ contributions and look forward to continue meeting our customers’ needs.”
The current collective agreement between SGI and COPE expired Dec. 31, 2009. The new agreement expires Dec. 31, 2013. Other highlights include:
- employer-paid pension increase from 5.5 per cent to 5.75 per cent effective Jan. 1, 2012
- restructuring and changes to existing employee benefit plans
- health and dental benefits maintained during the term of the agreement
- a guarantee of no layoffs for permanent employees for the period expiring Dec. 31, 2013
“It has taken over 18 months to reach an agreement with SGI,” said COPE 397’s Bargaining Committee. “We thank Members for their patience through this extraordinarily long and arduous process. With this process behind us, planning begins for the next round of bargaining.”
In July, members of the union served SGI with a strike notice. After July 27’s tentative agreement was reached, the union suspended job action and lifted its ban on overtime.
