Union for workers in Sask. ministries and agencies ratifies 3-year-contract with province

After a year and a half of negotiations, members of the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees' Union (SGEU) voted to accept the provincial government's latest offer last week, ratifying a new three-year contract for the province's public service employees.

SGEU represents 11,000 employees in government ministries and agencies, including firefighters, pilots, agrologists, highway traffic officersand many other roles.

The new contract includes a wage increase of almost eight per cent over three years (three per cent, three per cent, and 1.67 per cent). There's also an increase of 0.4 per cent to pension matching for members who are not already at nine per cent.

"I am pleased with both parties' commitment and co-operation in working at the bargaining table to reach a new collective agreement that is good for both public service employees and the people of Saskatchewan," Dustin Duncan, minister responsible for Saskatchewan's major Crown corporations, said in a news releaseon Monday.

The new agreement retroactively dates back to October 2022 and will last until September 2025.

Other public sector agreements

Some other Crown corporations and public sector unions have signed new contracts recently, including one between SaskPower and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

In May, IBEW members and SaskPower board of directors voted to approve a three-yearagreement with wage increases of threeper cent for 2023 and 2024, and twoper cent for 2025.

SaskGaming also reached new three-year agreements with four of its collective bargaining units. Contracts were signed with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) in April and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) in February, and separate agreements with the Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) for Casino Regina and Casino Moose Jaw were ratified in late 2023.

All four agreements are for three years, and provide general wage increases of threeper cent, twoper centand twoper cent.

SecurTek, a subsidiary of SaskTel, also reached an agreementfor 2023-24 with Unifor, the union that represents its employees.

It includes a general wage increase of threeper cent that is effective retroactively from March 19, 2023, to March 17, 2024.