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TORONTO, Ont. – Staff at COSTI Immigrant Services, members of Local 2221 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE 2221) have ratified a new, two-year collective agreement.
“We are very pleased that we were able to come to an agreement with COSTI,” said Mahmoud Saddo, President of CUPE 2221. This agreement ensures that the people and communities that depend on the services our members provide can continue to depend on those services, without fear of disruption.
The agreement, reached late Wednesday afternoon, was ratified a day later at a special membership meeting.
Local 2221’s members provide a wide range of services at 17 COSTI locations across the GTA, including career counselling, settlement assistance for new Canadians, specialized employment services for foreign-trained professionals, refugee assistance, Ontario Works, Employment Insurance recipients and general employment counselling, to name just a few.
In addition to improvements to job security, members also secured modest improvements to their salaries, which will be made retroactive to last April.
“In spite of an extremely difficult bargaining environment, our members were able to secure real, meaningful improvements to their working conditions through the process of collective bargaining,” said Saddo.
He went on to thank members for their support to Local 2221’s executive and bargaining committee during this round of negotiations.
“Securing a fair collective agreement wouldn’t have been possible without the support and solidarity we received from our members,” said Saddo.
The new collective agreement will take effect when the COSTI Board of Directors conducts its own ratification vote, which is expected next week.
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For more information, please contact:
Kevin Wilson, CUPE Communications, 416-821-6641
