Apprentices come out ahead with electrical contract - ChronicleHerald, Halifax NS
Mr. Griffiths said the apprentice wage moved to $12 from $7.97 per hour in the new contract.
Vacation pay benefits for both journeymen and apprentice electricians jumped from eight per cent to 12 per cent. There are 1,080 members of the union, and the group had been without a contract since April
Mr. Griffiths said the increase is based on local supply and demand and not the Alberta phenomenon. Companies working in the tar sands are not looking for apprentice electricians but need journeymen because the work is complicated.
Apprentice electricians might find work at a higher pay level in Calgary or Edmonton, but then they would have to deal with housing costs that are 50 to 100 per cent higher than in Nova Scotia.