After a week of voting on a new contract for Red River College and Assiniboine Community College members, the ballots were counted this evening by the component’s bargaining representatives. A majority of members have voted in favour of management’s final offer that was presented on January 20th, and therefore the new four-year collective agreement (effective June 23, 2013 – June 22, 2017) is now ratified.
Members of the Colleges Common Bargaining Table (Local 71, Assiniboine Community College and Local 73, Red River College) will see a wage increase of 2.0% (retroactive to June 29, 2013) and another increase of 2.0% in each year of the agreement, with the final increase on June 25, 2016. The contract also features an employment security clause as well as a workload manageability review for non-instructional staff.
Since December 2012, the Colleges Common Bargaining Table met with the employer on 19 occasions to reach the new agreement.
Negotiations reached a stalemate in the fall and the Bargaining Committee and employer jointly applied for conciliation services.
After 11 sessions with a conciliator, the employer presented a “Final Offer” to elected MGEU Bargaining Representatives who brought the agreement to members to vote on.
The next step will be to finalize, sign and print copies of the new contract which will be mailed to members as soon as it is ready. In the meantime, members are encouraged to update their contact information to ensure they receive a copy of the new contract once available.