As you may be aware, Minister Osborne made a public statement that CUPE and the province had reached a “tentative agreement” on June 28, 2018. However, it is only correct to say that we have reached a “framework agreement” at this point.
Until members of the CUPE Bargaining Committee have given their approval, this is a “framework”. After their approval is given, this becomes a “tentative agreement” and plans will be made to present the offer to the membership for a ratification vote.
CUPE received the framework agreement documents from the government in the third week of July. On Saturday, July 28, the Bargaining Committee and staff met to review the documents and to determine if a tentative agreement had indeed been reached.
There remain several issues in the agreement to be resolved before the Bargaining Committee can determine if we have a “tentative agreement”. Several documents must be finalized to ensure that we uphold the best interest of CUPE members. We are currently working through those documents and expect to be able to communicate the results to you in the near future.
This has been a long and difficult round of bargaining and your bargaining committees and staff representatives truly appreciate your patience, understanding and support. We are nearing the end of this arduous process. Please continue to show the strong solidarity that you have throughout this entire process as we proceed down the home stretch.
Your bargaining committees expect to be able to communicate with you in the very near future, hopefully prior to the end of summer.