Closure agreement reached for Ogden Shop
Commenting on the CP Rail agreement ratified in February, CAW president Ken Lewenza mentioned that the closure agreement at Calgary’s Ogden Shop “recogniz[ed] the senior and junior members.”
It included both retirement incentives and relocation benefits. A few years ago, only the early retirement money might have sufficed.
The end of downsizing and outsourcing has not been reached, but perhaps a demographic corner has been turned. The return of job growth and the aging of the workforce may be starting to make their impact felt.
In other respects, the agreement is a good one for employees. Wages increase by three per cent in three of the four years of the agreement and the lump sum in the second year is four per cent of the previous year’s earnings. Monetary caps on benefits rise incrementally over the term of the agreement.
The trades modernization language from the Canadian National agreement is missing from this contract, but the company has agreed to train skilled trades to the level of provincial certification.
CP has agreed not to use GPS devices to actively monitor employees in the workplace.
Finally, the HSA for retirees has been increased by $4 per year of service from $33 to $37. The size of the account had been an issue for the CAW and it had taken it to arbitration.
