The Town of Sutton has renewed its agreements on working conditions for its employees

As announced on April 24, at its May 7 meeting, the municipal council adopted the renewal of two agreements concerning the working conditions of Town of Sutton employees: the collective agreement for unionized personnel and the policy on working conditions for management employees. The current agreements, which expire on December 31, will be renewed for a period of five years, from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2030.

On behalf of the Council, the Mayor Robert Benoît expressed his satisfaction at the rapid conclusion of negotiations between the administration and the respective committees of each agreement. “We have considerably reduced staff turnover over the past five years, which is very positive for the stability of resources and the atmosphere at work. Negotiations went quickly and smoothly, to everyone’s satisfaction.”

Collective agreement

Negotiations for the renewal of the collective agreement (Resolution number 2025-05-182) took place in April between four representatives of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) – Local 3246 (Sutton’s employees’ union) and three representatives of the Town’s administration. An agreement in principle was reached fairly quickly between the parties, following which the unionized staff met on Monday May 5 to ratify it by over 90%. The new collective agreement provides for a 6% salary adjustment in the first year, 2026, after which increases will follow inflation as in previous agreements (minimum of 2% and maximum of 3%).

Policy on working conditions for management employees

Concerning the renewal of the management agreement (Resolution number 2025-05-175), a salary adjustment was agreed for certain management employees at the lower end of the salary scale. This adjustment, based on an analysis produced by the Union des municipalités du Québec (UMQ), was calculated using the salary averages of similar municipalities in terms of their standardized property wealth (RFU), population and budget. It is designed to ensure internal equity and competitive compensation. The increase will vary according to position, and will represent a total increase of approximately $55,000 on the total payroll.

Comparison

• In 2021, when the current agreements were adopted, the payroll – including salary increases granted in the agreements – was $3,843,095 on a budget of $12,024,928, or 31.96%.
• In 2025, the payroll is $4,686,874 on a budget of $16,148,677, or 29.02%.
• In 2026, based on the adjustments provided for in the new agreements, payroll will represent $4,966,271 out of a budget of $16,471,651 (assessed on the basis of a consumer price index (CPI) of 2%), or 30.15%.