What does a 20 per cent wage increase over four years look like if you are a CUPE member in New Brunswick? Answer: a bag of apples [video]

In 2021, many CUPE locals in New Brunswick, in their first round of centralized bargaining with the Higgs’ government, put forth a wage increase demand of 5 per cent per year for four years. Does this sound like a lot? Let’s look at the numbers with CUPE Maritimes’ Gabrielle Ross-Marquette and Aditya Rao.

En 2021, de nombreuses sections locales du SCFP au Nouveau-Brunswick ont présenté, lors de leur premier passage de négociation centralisée sur un nouveau mandat salarial, une demande d’augmentation économique générale de 5 % par an, pendant 4 ans. Cela vous semble-t-il beaucoup ? Examinons les chiffres, avec Gabrielle Ross-Marquette et Aditya Rao du SCFP.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is the largest union in New Brunswick, representing 28,000 members in the province. CUPE is also the largest union in Canada, with 700,000 members across the country.

Access all of NB Media Co-op’s coverage of the events leading up to the CUPE strike here.

Read all of NB Media Co-op’s coverage of the 2021 CUPE strike here.