City, IBEW Local 1003 reach agreement on new five-year deal
By Nelson Daily Staff
Two years of bargaining finally turned into a new contract between the City of Nelson (Nelson Hydro) and its 11 local IBEW Local 1003 worker.
The parties reached agreement Thursday (March 6) on a new five-year deal, which has been ratified by the two sides.
The new deal runs until April 30, 2017.
The new agreement provides increases that are consistent with those provided to both CUPE employee groups within the City of Nelson and also addresses some of the cost pressures the City was facing in retirement benefits, sick leave and training.
In the last four months, the City has successfully come to terms on two contracts affecting over 90 City of Nelson CUPE Local 339 workers — one deal covering 80 city staff, and another affecting 11 Nelson Library employees.
The 11 IBEW workers, all of them full time, will see a two percent wage increase retroactive to January 1, 2012, and May 1 in 2013 and then an additional two percent on May 1, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
The City will now focus attention on the two remaining contracts that have yet to be negotiated — one with the IAFF (Nelson Fire Department), which expired in December 2011, and another, with the Nelson Police Department, which expired in 2012.
