CUPE 882 will hold a ratification vote Tuesday regarding the final offer from the City of Prince Albert.

CUPE National Representative Mira Lewis says the union still has grave concerns about a proposed call centre in addition to changes the City wants to implement without negotiating with the union.

She says, “We do not see the city moving on this issue, so we are letting our members decide our path forward by voting on the tentative agreement.”  Voting will end at 6:00 p.m., and the results will be shared Wednesday morning.

The union commenced job action on August 10, and there was a full withdrawal of services starting on September 11 which has impacted City Hall, EA Rawlinson Centre for the Arts, Frank Dunn Pool, Alfred Jenkins Field House, and the Art Hauser Centre.

The union had filed an unfair labour practice with the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board seeking a ruling on the city’s conduct during bargaining. The union is claiming the city violated the Employment Act, saying the city informed them that a call centre at City Hall, created during the strike to manage calls, would remain in place. According to CUPE 882, the call centre would impact the classification of at least nine employees.

The City of Prince Albert says there was no violation, and that the implementation of the call centre will result in no job losses, no wage loss, no change to work hours and no change to job classifications or descriptions. CUPE 882 halted the September 29th ratification vote on the tentative agreement that had been reached with the city.