Oil Sands Workers Get Modest Raise Amid Inflation

A recent collective agreement reached between Two Crossings Maintenance Services and Local 955 of the International Union of Operating Engineers has granted workers a 6% wage increase over three years. The new contract, which expires in April 2029, comes after two previous agreements that included wage freezes.

The raise is retroactive to May 1, 2026, and will be compounded annually, resulting in a total of 6.12% wage increase over the life of the agreement. However, when adjusted for inflation, the workers' real wages have actually decreased by 31.14% since 2015.

In fact, between May 2014 and May 2025, the consumer price index in Alberta increased by nearly 30%, from 132.8 to 171.9 points. Despite this, the new raise is still considered a significant improvement over previous agreements, which included only wage freezes or modest increases.