Unionized workers on the Canada Line ratified their new contract Tuesday that gives them a wage increase and pension plan.
The 150 or staff, who belong to the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union, voted 63 per cent in favour of the deal with Protrans BC which operates the line.
The new agreement, which came after workers in January voted 99 per cent in favour of job action, runs until Dec. 31, 2019. The wage increase is five per cent over the deal’s first four years, with the remaining two years tied into the same increase other SkyTrain workers receive.
The workers had been without a contract since December 2013.
“Our Canada Line members wanted to be included in the Public Service Pension Plan like all other workers on the SkyTrain system who do similar work,” said BCGEU President Stephanie Smith in a press release. “At a time when employers are seeking to leave defined benefit pension plans, this is an important victory for our Canada Line members. Through tough bargaining and solidarity they were able to negotiate this and other important improvements to their collective agreement.”
