Employees at The Salvation Army in Campbell River and Port Hardy ratify first agreement

BCGEU members employed at Ocean Crest Community Ministries have ratified a first collective agreement. It was approved by a vote of 95%. These employees perform a diverse range of jobs including thrift store clerk, warehouse worker, residential worker, extreme weather shelter worker, administrator, and program coordinator.

The two year agreement expires on March 31, 2012. It provides for wage increases ranging from 3% to 14%, retroactive to April 1, 2010. Workers will receive an additional 2% on April 1, 2011.

Signing bonuses range from $100 for casual employees to $200 for regular employees.

Workers have also made other gains, including seniority rights in position postings, vacation selection, and shift schedules.

As well, regular employees working less than 37.5 hours per week will now be able to register for additional hours. They’ll be offered work in order of seniority.

Casual employees will also benefit. The agreement outlines an orderly process for offering available work. There’s also a provision that will allow for external applicants to be hired to posted positions only in cases where no qualified candidate has been identified through the internal posting process.