Contact: Dean Miller, Commissioner of Corporate & Financial Services, 905-771-2497, Dean.Miller@RichmondHill.ca

RICHMOND HILL – The Town of Richmond Hill and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 905 have officially agreed to a three-year collective agreement that will serve the Municipality and its CUPE Local 905 employees until March 31, 2016.

The three-year contract, retroactive to April 1, 2013, provides CUPE Local 905 staff with two per cent salary increases each year for 2013, 2014 and 2015. The new agreement also includes some specific changes regarding the hiring of seasonal employees, as well as minor staff benefit enhancements.

The most recent collective agreement expired on March 31, 2013; bargaining for the new agreement began in June 2013. The new agreement, retroactive to April 1, 2013, ends on March 31, 2016.

“It is important we ensure our salaries are competitive, so that we continue to retain skilled staff,” said Dean Miller, Commissioner of Corporate & Financial Services. “We depend on these people to provide top notch service and maintain the standards that the community has come to expect.”

The increases are consistent with general increases provided by other municipal employers in York Region. Funding to cover the costs of providing the increase has already been accounted for in Richmond Hill’s 2014 Operating Budget. Having a three-year contract provides for financial and labour certainty for this period of time.

There are 105 full-time employees included in this agreement, in addition to a fluctuating number of seasonal employees. Richmond Hill’s CUPE Local 905 employees are responsible for the maintenance and operation of the Town’s many roads, parks, facilities (including community centres and pools), arenas and infrastructure (such as stormwater and wastewater systems).