Retirement incentive will limit tech change layoffs
The 1,500 employees of the Alcoa aluminum refinery in Baie-Comeau, Que. have ratified a long collective agreement predicated on the modernization of the plant’s technology.
The first four years of the contract with an affiliate of the CSN provide healthy wage increases of 3.0, 3.0, 2.8 and 2.9 per cent. There is an automatic renewal and a re-opener for wages only for the final four years, provided the modernization project has been commenced.
The new technology will see a department be amalgamated with another department for job family and seniority purposes. Employees of the former department will have their seniority recognized and be trained on the new equipment.
However, the number of employees needed will be smaller and the collective agreement provides a $20,000 retirement incentive to reduce layoffs.
Alcoa is also moving to self-directed work teams to reduce a layer of supervision. The teams will be defined by the company and employees will apply for positions. An initial 30¢ premium across the company will be increased to 90¢ for members of teams that become independent and achieve their production goals.
The employees of the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp., members of the SGEU, came under criticism for commencing a strike in June while flooding was damaging field crops in the province.
The Premier, Brad Wall, threatened back-to-work legislation. That was precluded when a tentative deal was reached a few days later.
The central issue was wages, and the final increases of 1.5, 2.0 and 2.25 per cent came in between what the government had been offering and the union’s original demands.
