Mount Pearl council has approved a 4.5 per cent increase in pay for its members and senior management.
The increase is retroactive to July 1. The hike mirrors the raise negotiated by the unionized workforce in its most recent round of negotiations for the 2026-2030 collective agreement and will impact 54 management positions at an extra cost of $124,000 this year. The council increases come at a cost of $7,000 for this year.
“The City reviews changes to cost of living on an annual basis when determining economic increases. Increases over the last number of years have not kept up pace with inflation and cost of living,” said Kerri Hodder, communications advisor for the City of Mount Pearl in response to questions from The Pearl News, adding the increase will be reviewed again as part of the 2027 budget process.
Annual Council remuneration is paid out quarterly. Councillors must attend at least half of their meetings to be eligible for their quarterly pay.
The new collective agreement for 2026 – 2030 has been ratified by both the City and CUPE Local 2099 but has not been formally signed.
“As a result, we have not released the details of the agreement publicly at this time. Once the agreement has been signed, the information will be made available in accordance with our usual process,” said Hodder.
The previous collective agreement ran from July 1, 2022 through to June 30, 2026 and included a nine per cent total wage increase that broke down into four percent in 2022, three percent in 2023 and one percent in both 2024 and 2025. That agreement also included a reduction in sick-leave days from 21 to 18 days, the introduction of two personal leave days, an increased meal allowance from $15 to $17 and an increase from four to six employees scheduled for weekend maintenance and snow clearing during the winter season.