About 300 Janitors in the Halifax area will not walk off the job.
The cleaners with GDI Integrated Facility Services, who are represented by SEIU Local 2, ratified a collective agreement on Saturday, with overwhelming support.
They have been without a contract since the end of September and were set to start strike action on Sunday.
It would have been the HRM’s first-ever large-scale private-sector janitorial strike.
GDI cleaners work at nearly fifty properties in Halifax, including the Ferry Terminals, commercial offices like Purdy’s Wharf, malls like the Halifax Shopping Centre and Mic Mac Mall, and government properties like the RCMP headquarters in Dartmouth.
“I think everybody, from people who were bargaining, to everybody who was involved and showed up, and showed that there was support for this, it’s a win for everybody,” said Matthew Fielding, who has been working for GDI for almost 3 years.
Before the new agreement, most GDI cleaners in the HRM earned between $15.60 and $16.45 per hour. Hourly wages will increase to between $16.10 and $17.20 retroactively to October 1, 2024. The pay rates depend on the length of service. Workers will receive an additional $0.75 per hour in pay in a couple of months (April 1, 2025) and another $0.75 per hour on April 1, 2026. The contract expires on March 31, 2027.
The agreement also includes language ensuring that workers’ wages increase by at least the minimum wage increase in a calendar year. Currently, the minimum wage in Nova Scotia is $15.20.
The new deal has a reduction in the time of service needed to be eligible for health and dental benefits. It also addressed concerns over unreasonable workloads.
