Following ratification meetings of the membership of the three unionized Kootenay Insurance Services (KIS) branches in Cranbrook, Trail and Nelson, the 24 United Steelworkers (USW) members have ratified the new collective agreement by a substantial margin.

The new agreement contains improvements in:

Wages – 7.4% increase over four years plus a $500 signing bonus;
a new floater for Trail and Cranbrook; Easter Monday Stat holiday for Nelson
Vision Care – $400/24 months; Orthodontic coverage improved to $3,000;
Health Care Spending Account increase to $200 annually to a cap of $600
Extra week of vacation added for part-time employees; improvement to part-time seniority language; improvement of part-time stat pay.

There is also an addition of medical/dental appointment leave of 14 paid hours per year
Increase to “In-Charge” premium to $20/day – minimum four hours.
An addition of a cross-training premium of $0.50/hour for all employees when required to train
Improved Job Posting language
Increase education maximum to $1,200/year
banking benefits outlined to respective Credit Unions
New wage categories for commercial broker and commercial assistant.

The USW Bargaining Committee comprised of Tracey Gausdal (Trail), Rob Brehm (Cranbrook) and Angie Prentice (Nelson) along with USW Local 1-405 Financial Secretary Jeff Bromley, USW Local 9705 President Mike Mozak and lead negotiator, USW Staff Rep Dean Lott, would like to thank the membership for their patience during the bargaining process.

USW

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