The Canadian Union of Public Employees has confirmed that 100 inside workers at the City of Prince Albert are on strike. Vice President of CUPE 882, Cara Stelmaschuk, says, “This is the first CUPE job action in over 12 years in Saskatchewan, and the first strike in CUPE 882’s 70-year history.” She says the city has refused to meet with them after presenting an offer last week, which the union didn’t agree to, but then sent a revised contract to the city, which wasn’t accepted on Sunday.

The City of Prince Albert’s offer is 11 per cent over four years. The latest offer from the union is a four-year settlement with a 12 per cent wage increase. Stelmaschuk says, based on the city’s costing, the extra one per cent increase would cost an extra $48,000, which she doesn’t believe is a massive increase for the City of Prince Albert’s lowest paid workers.