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After almost 100 days of striking, some civilian military workers are headed back to work after voting to ratify a contract settlement offer.
According to the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), almost 300 workers in Kingston, Petawawa and Ottawa will return to work within the next five days after 71 per cent voted in favour during ratification votes held earlier this week.
The remaining Non-Public Funds staff working at bases in Bagotville, Montreal–St-Jean and Valcartier will stay on the line after 80 per cent of votes rejected the deal.
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The settlement, reached between PSAC and Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services through mediation (CFMWS), includes wage increases of 13.75 per cent over three years and a commitment from the agency to consult the union on the implementation of a national job classification for workers — a key bargaining issue for Non-Public Funds employees — with the goal of creating a national wage grid.
“This settlement delivers important gains for our members after taking strike action for more than three months in the face of employer apathy, police intimidation, picket line violence, and the use of scab labour,” PSAC national president Chris Aylward said in a news release Friday. “We’re listening to the concerns of NPF members who voted against the settlement, and will continue to support them as strike action continues.”
The union said it will “continue to pressure decision-makers to put in place the necessary legislative and regulatory changes to move the work NPF members do into the core public service and address longstanding wage disparity for workers.”
“Our members who voted against the contract are also the lowest paid NPF workers despite performing the exact same duties as their colleagues in other provinces and the core public service,” Union Of National Defence Employees national president June Winger said in the release. “These members are demanding pay equity, and UNDE will continue supporting them to achieve that.”
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