The Prince George Public Library Board and CUPE Local 4951 have ratified the first collective agreement for library workers, the sides said in a joint release issued Wednesday.
It provides for wage increases for each year of the contract, and defines working conditions and includes benefits and overall language improvements.
It covers 54 library workers, including pages, library assistants, librarians, acquisitions and cataloguing staff, customer experience assistants, IT staff, accounting clerks, and security staff. PGPL staff members provide library services to community members in Prince George and the surrounding regional district.
The bargaining committees held six bargaining sessions in October and the tentative agreement was ratified by CUPE 4951-04 members on November 9. Prince George Public Library Board Members unanimously ratified the agreement on November 13.
“We know how valuable libraries are to this community,” said CUPE 4951 President Lily Bachand. “We look forward to working collaboratively with the Board to provide quality services to residents throughout the term of the agreement.”
Bachand said that it's important to recognize the effort put in by both sides in negotiating this first collective agreement.
“The dynamic and dedicated staff at PGPL are vital to the success of the library in this community,” added Library Director Paul Burry. “We are pleased to have reached an agreement that provides long-term stability for the public library moving forward. We thank union representatives as well as library staff and board members for their hard work in reaching this achievement.
The five-year contract took effect on November 15 and runs until March 31, 2026.
