Thousands of Ottawa municipal employees will be getting an 11 per cent raise over three years after the city and the workers’ union settled a pay dispute through arbitration. A city memo released on Friday says an arbitration panel awarded members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 503, which represents approximately 8,000 municipal public servants across all City of Ottawa departments, wage increases retroactive to 2025. According to arbitration documents, CUPE Local 503 proposed a 4.5 per cent annual pay increase, while the city proposed a 3 per cent annual pay increase. The arbitration panel ordered the following wage increases: These wage increases work out to approximately 11.15 per cent over three years, or approximately 3.72 per cent annually. The arbitration process dealt only with the issue of wages, as other issues were resolved through the collective bargaining process. The new rates of pay and retroactive adjustments must take effect within 120 days of the arbitration decision, which was awarded on Nov. 10. The approximately 8,000 employees work in several departments, including Emergency and Protective Services, Public Works, Community and Social Services, Finance and Corporate Services, Transit Services and Recreation, Cultural and Facility Services. Last month, an arbitration panel awarded 350 administrative and office staff at OC Transpo wage increases of three per cent in 2024, five per cent in 2025, three per cent in 2026 and three per cent in 2027.
