[DIV class=headline]Prison guards get $15,000 raise
[DIV class=pubdate]Jun. 27, 2006. 04:54 PM
[DIV class=byline]CANADIAN PRESS[/DIV]
[DIV class=articlebody][!-- icx_story_begin --]OTTAWA — Canada's 6,000 correctional officers have agreed to a new contract after a bitter, four-year labour dispute.
Almost 90 per cent of the voting membership of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers endorsed the deal with Treasury Board, which will see labour peace until May 2010.
The prison guards at 54 facilities had been without a contract since June 2002 but were not allowed to strike because they provide an essential service.
The deal improves health, safety and overtime standards and raises the starting salary for a correctional officer to $49,000 annually, up from $34,000. Veteran workers see their wages rise to $62,000 a year from $50,000.
Treasury Board President John Baird welcomed the ratification vote and called the contract "fair and reasonable compensation for valuable work."[/DIV]
