DUNCAN, BC– The Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) and Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 358 have reached agreement on a four-year collective agreement for the period of January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2025.
“We are very pleased to announce that we have reached this agreement after months of work by the highly dedicated and collaborative bargaining team on both sides of the table,” said Danielle Myles Wilson, CAO of the Cowichan Valley Regional District. “We sincerely thank all those involved in reaching this mutually-beneficial agreement to allow us to continue providing important public services to our residents today and in the coming years.”
In addition to improvements in benefits and premiums, financial terms of the new agreement include a per hour wage increases of 3.24 percent plus a .25 cent per hour flat increase in the first year (retroactive for 2022), 4 percent in the second year, 3.5 percent in the third year, and 3 percent in the fourth year. CUPE Local 358 represents approximately 240 CVRD employees and this agreement allows for the continued high level of service delivery provided by the regional district for the next four years.
“We are very pleased with the progress we were able to make in this round of bargaining,” says CUPE Local 358 President Jeff Parker. “We believe the success of this round of negotiations was possible because of the healthy and robust relationship the union has with the District. We look forward to continuing to partner with the District to provide vital public services to residents.”
CUPE Local 358 represents approximately 450 workers throughout the Cowichan Valley. Workers at the CVRD provide a wide variety of services to residents including recreation, arts and culture, maintenance of parks and trails, building inspections, roads, community planning, finance, legislative services, bylaw enforcement, and emergency management.
