Prince Albert municipal workers set to strike

Prince Albert municipal workers are preparing for a strike.

In a media release Thursday, the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 882 — which represents the city’s inside workers, including administration, information technology, bylaw enforcement, building inspections, recreation, arts employees and others — said it has reached an impasse with the city and is set to strike.

The union said its job action would be “up to and including a full withdrawal of services” as early as Aug. 10. The union said the employees have been without a contract since December of 2021.

“The city’s offer would leave city workers with less purchasing power at a time when everything is getting more expensive,” Tammy Vermette, the president of CUPE 882, said in the release. “Despite the rhetoric from the City of Prince Albert, this offer does not address the crushing cost of living and instead asks their workers to do more with less.”

According to the union, the city has refused to meet with the union since employees rejected the city’s final offer. The union’s media release added that a mandatory conciliation process wasn’t successful and ended in half a day.