VANCOUVER — CUPE 15 members joined their CUPE health sector counterparts in turning down the tentative agreement with a resounding no vote on Friday.
CUPE 15 president Paul Faoro says that members were bitterly disappointed and upset with some of the trade-offs and voted 96.5% against ratifying the agreement.
Faoro says that members were particularly unhappy with the proposals on Long Term Disability that provide a different level of coverage for new hires and reduce Long Term Disability Coverage to 19 months from 24 months.
“Even existing employees were not in favour of starting a two-tier disability plan,” says Faoro. “This agreement could potentially jeopardize Long Term Disability for everyone.”
Faoro adds, “Front line workers were unhappy that there was no general wage increase. Our members didn’t understand the rush to get a bad deal.”
The two-year deal features no general wage increase, no new money for benefits, and no major improvements in employee rights.
“This tentative agreement takes money from our left pocket and puts a little bit of it back into our right pocket,” says Faoro.
CUPE 15 represents workers at Vancouver Coastal Health who provide services in every neighbourhood in Vancouver. The date of the vote for CUPE members in Local 3403-01 is still to be determined.
View CUPE’s Comprehensive Report on the Tentative Agreement.
