Kamloops municipal employees will be getting a 12 per cent wage increase over the next two years.

The City of Kamloops and CUPE Local 900 say they have ratified a new two-year collective agreement, retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year.

CUPE staff at the City of Kamloops will be getting a four per cent raise in 2024 and 2025, along with a four per cent cost of living increase.

“The Union and the City have worked collaboratively for an agreement that acknowledges the changes in the workforce climate since the last contract was ratified in 2019,” Acting CAO Byron McCorkell said, in a statement.

“We are pleased with the outcome and feel it continues to build a mutually beneficial relationship with our Union partners.”

The previous five-year contract – that gave Kamloops staff a 10.75 per cent increase between 2019 and 2023 – expired on Dec. 31, 2023.

McCorkell says the new contract is “reflective of collective agreements recently ratified throughout the province and is already included in 2024-2029 financial plan.”

Kamloops Corporate Services Director David Hallinan previously told Radio NL that the City was putting aside $10.2 million in this year’s budget for contracted or economic impacts, including employee wages and benefits.

That amount was also meant to cover increases to Kamloops firefighters, who are represented by IAFF Local 913 and RCMP officers who are represented by the National Police Federation.

Hallinan also told Radio NL last month that the City is also in negotiations with around a new firefighter contract. Negotiations for a new police contract are handled by the NPF and the Treasury Board of Canada at a federal level.