CUPE 456 set to meet with City of Melville March 5

WATCH: About 30 Melville workers may go on strike if an agreement with the city is not made by mid-March.

The City of Melville and CUPE local 456 will meet at the bargaining table on March 5 to negotiate an agreement involving 32 city workers.

The union is asking the city to provide a wage increase for workers at the City of Melville to keep up with inflation costs and to address the high levels of turnover seen in the past few years.

CUPE 456 national representative, Dylan Breland, said the union has been bargaining since early 2024 - both parties failing to find a common solution.

“We’ve had 32 resignations in the last four years alone,” Breland stated, at the CUPE local office in Yorkton.

“We have asked the employer three times during this collective run of bargaining to increase their monetary offer. We presented it to the membership and it hasn’t been sufficient. So far, the employer has not increased the monetary offer at all. This vote was to demonstrate to the employer how serious members take this issue.”

Breland added that the vast majority of the turnover is related to “people taking better paying jobs in the area.”

In a statement to CTV news, the City of Melville said they have been actively participating in negotiations with CUPE local 456 and will continue to do so.

“We have mediation scheduled again for next week. It was made public through the media that the union held a strike vote last week and the City of Melville wants to ensure residents that as a result, planning is well underway to prepare for a potential strike if we can’t come to an agreement through the bargaining process,” the city stated.

“The disruption of services for our residents will be minimal as we are committed to limiting impacts to any services not covered by essential services legislation. The City feels that they have provided a fair and reasonable offer for our employees and one that is financially manageable for our residents and taxpayers.”

Although majority of CUPE 456 workers voted in favour of job action mind-February, Breland said he hopes an agreement can be reached with the city at their next mediation set for Wednesday March 5.

“I do want to stress that we want to negotiate an agreement at the bargaining table. That is the top priority for these members,” he expressed.

“Quite frankly we don’t want to see them go on strike, but the members are indicating that they will do what is necessary to get a fair deal at the table. That’s all they are asking for. “