Bargaining Updates:
CUPE 503 Members in the City of Ottawa Inside/Outside Collective Agreement:
The arbitration date will be held October 6th 2026 to deal with General Wage increases for a 3-year Collective Agreement that expired December 31st 2024. This is the only outstanding item remaining for this round of negotiations.
Ottawa Public Library
We have received the printed bilingual copies of the current Ottawa Public Library Collective Agreement. They are available for pick-up at the CUPE 503 Office Monday to Friday between 8:30am and 4:30pm.
Sandfield Place Long Term Care:
The Union has filed for a No Board and the parties have agreed to October 26th 2026 as an Interest Arbitration date and your Bargaining Team remains ready to return to the table to continue negotiations. The Union has also commenced the legal process with the Ministry of Labour regarding representation rights for Ted Laurier Place.
Forest Hill Long Term Care:
The Union has served Notice to Bargain for the Collective Agreement that expired May 1st 2026 from the last Interest Arbitration Award that was received in the summer. We have also filed for conciliation with the Ministry of Labour to start the process for the next round of bargaining. Members can expect to receive communications in the coming months for engagement for this next round.
Embassy West Retirement Residence:
Notice to Bargain has been served to the Employer to commence the bargaining process for the 4-year Collective Agreement that expired August 8th 2026. Bargaining dates have been confirmed with the Employer for December 4th and 10th 2026. Members can expect to receive communications in the coming months for engagement for this next round.
Ottawa Humane Society:
Bargaining dates were held with the Employer June 18th, 24th, 25th, July 6th,13th, August 5th and September 2nd. Progress at the bargaining table has been minimal with the Employer proposing concessions to the current Collective Agreement. A Conciliation Officer has been appointed by the Ministry of Labour to help the parties reach a Collective Agreement and that date is scheduled for October 27th. A communication specific to OHS members will be going out in the coming weeks with more details of the process and next steps.
Other Important Updates:
In May 2026 we completed the General Election process as per the CUPE 503 Bylaws for the 3-year term of the Executive Board and Executive Council. This process resulted in a number of vacancies on the Executive Council: (1) City of Ottawa 35-hour Salary Representative; (1) City of Ottawa 40/42-hour Salary Representative; (1) City of Ottawa Part-time Recreation & Culture Representative; (1) City of Ottawa Other than Full-time Representative; and (1) Ottawa Humane Society Representative. The CUPE 503 Bylaws do not allow for appointments to fill these vacancies; instead we must run another election process to fill these vacancies for the term ending May 31st 2029. This process will take place early in the new year. There are advance steps required including forming an Election Committee, appointing a Returning Officer and CUPE National Advisor for the by-election. Stay tuned for more details regarding the timeline in the coming months.
Save the Date:
Our Next Hybrid General Membership Meeting is Tuesday, October 20th at 7pm.
Your CUPE 503 Executive