4% Nanaimo City Cupe WAGE INCREASE IS ONLY THE HEADLINE

The 4% Nanaimo City CUPE Contract Hike
Is Only the Headline

The City is not just paying higher wages — it is applying those increases across a larger workforce.

THE BENEFIT PACKAGE ADDS CONSIDERABLE COSTS THE 4% HEADLINE JUST DOESN'T REFLECT. THE 4% INCREASE IS JUST PART OF THE STORY.

The City of Nanaimo’s new CUPE Local 401 contract provides a general wage increase of 4% per year for 2026, 2027 and 2028.

That 4% increase is the headline.

But it is not the whole story.

The full taxpayer-funded compensation picture includes wages, staffing growth, paid holidays, vacation, sick leave, accumulated sick time, pension participation, extended health, dental, vision care, life insurance, disability coverage and job-security protections.

Continue reading below for a plain-language look at the full compensation picture taxpayers are funding.

This is not an attack on City workers. Anyone offered a good wage-and-benefit package would likely accept it.

The issue is whether Nanaimo taxpayers have been shown the full picture of what they are being asked to fund.

The Wage Increase Is Not Just One Contract

The current CUPE Local 401 agreement provides general wage increases of 4% in 2026, 4% in 2027 and 4% in 2028. Compounded, that equals approximately 12.49% over three years.

But that follows the previous CUPE agreement, which provided increases of 4% in 2023, 4% in 2024 and 3.5% in 2025. That earlier agreement compounded to approximately 11.95%.

Combined, CUPE wage rates rise approximately 25.92% compounded from 2023 through 2028.

Contract Period	Annual Wage Increases	Compounded Increase
2023–2025 CUPE Agreement	4% + 4% + 3.5%	11.95%
2026–2028 CUPE Agreement	4% + 4% + 4%	12.49%
Combined 2023–2028	Six years of increases	25.92%

And the Payroll Base Has Grown

The wage increase is only part of the story. The City is not just paying higher wage rates. It is applying those higher wage rates across a larger workforce.

According to the City’s own FTE schedule, total budgeted staffing grew from 826.6 FTEs in 2022 to 931.2 FTEs in 2026. That is an increase of 104.6 FTEs, or approximately 12.7%.

Category	2022	2026	Increase	% Increase
Municipal FTEs	668.6	759.2	+90.6	+13.6%
RCMP FTEs	158.0	172.0	+14.0	+8.9%
Total FTEs	826.6	931.2	+104.6	+12.7%

Community Safety saw the largest increase, rising from 202.4 FTEs in 2022 to 270.8 FTEs in 2026. That is an increase of 68.4 FTEs, or approximately 33.8%.

Higher wage rates multiplied by more employees equals a much larger permanent cost base.

The Wage Floor Is Already High

The posted CUPE wage schedule for 2025 shows Level 1 at $30.78 per hour. The lowest clearly identified regular classification appears to be Level 2 — Labourer — at $32.10 per hour in 2025.

With the new 4% increase for 2026, that Labourer rate would rise to approximately $33.38 per hour, or about $69,430 per year based on a 40-hour week, before benefits.

A new City Labourer is estimated at about $33.38 per hour in 2026 — before benefits.

Probation and Benefit Start

Under the posted CUPE agreement, the general probation period is 60 days worked or 4 calendar months, whichever is less.

Major benefit coverage begins on the first day of the month following 60 days worked or 4 months of employment, whichever is sooner.

What a New Permanent Employee Starts With

• Paid statutory holidays: listed paid holidays include New Year’s Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, B.C. Day, Labour Day, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
• Vacation: starts at 3 weeks, pro-rated in the first calendar year, and increases with years of service.
• Sick leave: permanent employees are entitled to up to 18 paid sick days per calendar year.
• Sick leave accumulation: unused sick leave can accrue at 100% for future use, up to a maximum sick leave bank of 120 days.
• Extended health: once benefit coverage begins, the employer pays 100% of monthly contributions for the Extended Health Benefit Plan for permanent employees covered by the plan.
• Dental plan: once benefit coverage begins, the employer pays 100% of monthly contributions for the Dental Plan.
• Orthodontics: dental coverage includes orthodontics at 50% reimbursement up to a $4,000 lifetime maximum per dependent child.
• Vision care: coverage is listed at $500 every two years, excluding optometrist fees.
• Group life insurance: basic coverage of $100,000, with the employer paying 100% of the basic plan cost.
• Accidental death and dismemberment: basic coverage of $100,000, with the employer paying 100% of the basic plan cost.
• Long-term disability: the agreement describes LTD coverage after a 120-calendar-day waiting period, with benefits generally based on 60% of normal basic earnings, up to the plan maximum.
• Municipal Pension Plan: eligible employees and the employer are covered under Municipal Pension Plan rules.
• Seniority protection: after probation, seniority applies from the original date of employment, with layoff and recall rights governed by the agreement.

In Plain English

The hourly wage is only the sticker price. The full compensation package includes paid holidays, vacation, sick leave, employer-paid extended health and dental premiums, vision care, life insurance, disability coverage, pension participation and job-security protections.

Why This Matters

A 4% wage increase does not land on a bare-bones paycheque. It lands on top of an already structured public-sector compensation system.

It also lands inside a City organization that has grown significantly since 2022.

That means the affordability question is not only about one wage increase or one contract. It is about the combined effect of higher wage rates, more staff, benefits, pensions, paid leave and long-term obligations.

That may be reasonable. It may be defensible. But it should not be invisible.

The fair question is not whether workers want good wages and benefits. Of course they do.

The fair question is whether City Hall bargains with the same determination on behalf of the taxpayers who must pay for all of it.

Who bargains for the taxpayer?

Points to Ponder: The public debate often focuses on the annual wage increase. The real affordability question is the full taxpayer-funded compensation system — wages, staffing levels, benefits, pensions, paid leave and future obligations.

Source note: Wage rates, vacation, sick leave, benefit, pension and leave details are taken from the posted City of Nanaimo / CUPE Local 401 collective agreement covering January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2025. The 2026–2028 wage increase of 4% per year is from the City of Nanaimo’s March 26, 2026 news release. Staffing figures are from the City of Nanaimo 2026–2030 Financial Plan FTE schedule and refer to budgeted full-time equivalent positions, not a simple headcount. The finalized 2026–2028 collective agreement was not yet located publicly at the time this piece was prepared, so benefit details are based on the currently posted agreement unless changed in the final new contract. Calculations by Voice of Nanaimo.

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