Negotiating a contract

Town of Kensington, union workers trying to reach a deal

Talks are ongoing between the Town of Kensington and 12 of its employees who have been without a contract since April.

Geoff Baker, the town’s chief administrative officer, said negotiations have been ongoing for several months to ratify a contract with the employees, members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 4893. He called the discussions amicable, adding that they haven’t reached the point of having to go to conciliation or binding arbitration. “We have negotiated for about six days since we initiated negotiations,” said Baker. “We continue to negotiate. It looks like the next time we will come together is in the September, October timeframe, at which point negotiations will continue.” In December 2013, after failed conciliation and arbitration, the town locked out its unionized employees. The workers — communications technicians, a public works employee and a janitor — were among 12 CUPE members without at that time. Other members were uniformed police officers, who, under P.E.I.’s Labour Act, were exempt from the lockout, mandated to work since they were deemed essential.

Baker doesn’t feel that current negotiations would reach that point, adding his hope is that a deal could be soon reached.

He wouldn’t talk about specifics of the negotiations or what was being offered by the town and sought by the union. “I have no doubt in my mind that we will come to some sort of agreement here, it is certainly my wish.”