Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) workers will be getting raises thanks to a four-year deal that their union, CUPE Local 15, has reached with the employer following 13 meetings during more than three months of bargaining. The deal has been ratified, according to the union.
Workers will receive a 2.75 per cent increase, plus $0.25 per hour in the first year of the pact. Following years will see increases of 2.5 per cent, two per cent and two per cent.
The hikes come as B.C.'s inflation rate sits at 4.3 per cent.
The agreement between the union and the VAG runs between July 1 of last year, and June 30, 2026.
The deal also enables workers to do some remote work.
“As the gallery continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are pleased to have reached a deal with CUPE Local 15 so that staff and management can focus on delivering rich and engaging exhibitions, programs and access to art for the people of B.C.," said Anthony Kiendl, CEO of the gallery.
The gallery's current main exhibition is called Fashion Fictions, and runs until Oct. 9. It surveys experimental design practices that exist at the intersection of fashion and other modes of cultural production, according to the VAG's website.
The gallery has raised more than $280 million toward building a new $400-million gallery on the southern two-thirds of the block bounded by Cambie, Dunsmuir, Beatty and West Georgia streets. The gallery has been planning a move to a new gallery for about 15 years.
Former B.C. premier Gordon Campbell kicked off fundraising for a new gallery with a $50-million pledge in 2008.
