By Jeff Pelletier | Nuatsiaq News
Iqaluit municipal workers are welcoming new safety measures added to their new collective agreement.
Nunavut Employees Union Local 06 — which includes the city’s water truck operators, firefighters, paramedics, mechanics, road workers and municipal workers — ratified the four-year deal Dec. 11.
City councillors voted to approve the then-tentative agreement after a lengthy in-camera portion of their Dec. 10 meeting.
Wage details included in the new collective agreement are not clear. Council did not discuss the contract during the public portion of the meeting, and neither the city nor union would comment on what wage increases are included.
Nunavut Employees Union president Jason Rochon said in an email that the pay increase is “substantial,” but did not provide specifics.
“We got a lot of good benefits and we didn’t have to make any concessions for that,” said Alex Storring, the Local 06 vice-president and firefighter, in an interview.
He and Local 06 president Quinlin Iredale spoke of some of the worker safety measures included in the deal. There is now a line of duty death clause, as well as measures to prevent firefighters from being exposed to cancer-causing substances.
“We have a lot of young members on our fire team now, so this will go a long way in keeping them healthy and safe for longer careers,” said Iredale, who works as a mechanic at a municipal garage.
Inuit employees now have four “traditional” days — up from two days in the previous agreement — to hunt and take part in other traditional activities, said firefighter Solomon Tagak.
“I thought that was a pretty important acknowledgement,” Tagak said, adding it shows the city’s commitment to Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, or traditional principles.
The new agreement takes effect Jan. 1, 2025, the day after the current one expires, and runs until Dec. 31, 2028.
