The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) includes many positions serving support services such as administration, custody, laboratory, imaging, food services, licensed practical nurses and others. The three-year collective agreement, which went into effect on July 15, is the culmination of nine months of negotiations, Geick said. It offers annual salary increases (a total of 5.25% over the life of the agreement, or $16.5 million) and higher shift and weekend bonuses. Airport nurses and firefighters will benefit from further market adjustment. Approximately US$46,000 is also to be paid for community allowances and distance premiums. Earlier this year, experienced mediator Vince Ready was called in for help, and a tentative agreement was reached in June. Another aspect of the collective agreement that is not mentioned in the press release issued by the government is a joint apprenticeship program, Geick said, which required three rounds of bargaining to be put in place. The agreement includes salary increases totalling 5.25% over three years, including certain retroactive wages, as well as increases in salary ranges, weekend bonuses and shift bonuses for hours worked between 4 .m and 8 .m. As is customary with other unions, Geick said the results of the vote will not be published, except for the fact that voting members voted for the deal. The Yukon government and its union have ratified a new collective agreement, which will come into effect on Monday.

Yukon Employees Union President Steve Geick speaks at a news conference in Whitehorse on December 18, 2018. According to Geick, a new collective agreement between the Government of Yukon and the Yukon Employees Union will allow employees to have up to 48 hours of paid leave if they experience workplace trauma. (Crystal Schick/Yukon News File) Lisa Wykes, who temporarily holds the position of Public Service Commissioner, said the process was collaborative. A new collective agreement signed by the territorial government and its union includes a first for Canada, says the president of the Yukon Employees Union (YEU). “Many hours of hard work went into teams on both sides to reach this collective agreement.” The agreement also allows “an employee who experiences one or two work-related traumatic incidents to receive leave without loss of pay for the remainder of the scheduled workday,” according to a press release from the territorial government. .