Tentative agreement in ArcelorMittal strike; Workers at Bunge Canada ratify contract
Manitoba school support staff ratify deal
GIMLI, Man. — School support staff represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Local 3164 and the Evergreen School Division in Gimli, Man. ratified a new collective agreement on June 8.
“The agreement between CUPE 3164 and Evergreen School Division ensures school support staff receive raises that are consistent with those recently negotiated by the Manitoba Teachers’ Society,” says Lee McLeod, CUPE regional director.
Wage increases are in line with recently negotiated teacher’s agreements, and are retroactive: 1.6 per cent in 2019, 1.4 per cent in 2020 and 0.5 per cent in 2021, says CUPE.
The agreement is the first freely negotiated (settled without arbitration) school support staff settlement in Manitoba to break the wage mandate of the government of premier Brian Pallister. This mandate was originally part of The Public Services Sustainability Act, legislation that was ruled unconstitutional by the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench in 2020, says the union.
CUPE 3164 represents about 150 school support staff at the Evergreen School Division, including education assistants, bus drivers, school secretaries, maintenance and trades, library staff and ECEs.
Tentative agreement in ArcelorMittal strike
PORT-CARTIER, Que. — More than four weeks into a strike at three ArcelorMittal operations in Quebec at ArcelorMittal, a tentative agreement on a new contract was reached on June 8 for 2,500 members of the United Steelworkers (USW).
Details of the agreement will not be made public until the deal is presented to union members and a ratification vote is held, says the union.
Workers at ArcelorMittal operations in Port-Cartier, Fermont and Fire Lake have been on strike since May 10.
Workers at Bunge Canada ratify contract
NIPAWIN, Sask. – United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW) 248P members at Bunge Canada in Nipawin, Sask. voted to ratify a new collective agreement on June 4.
The contract includes a 2.75-per-cent wage increase in each of the three-year agreement along with improvements to benefits, clothing allowance and prescription safety glasses. New language was also included for cross-plant certification and standby pay for maintenance staff, says the union.
Along with Bunge Canada members in Manitoba and Ontario, UFCW, Local 248P members in Nipawin produce canola oil and related by-products.
Agreement in principle at PSAC
MONTREAL — An agreement in principle was reached on May 27 between representatives of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) which represents about 40 consultants working in Quebec.
They had been without a labour contract since May 2019.
After voting to strike on May 11, the parties held four intensive but productive negotiation sessions. The details of the agreement will be revealed at an upcoming general assembly where members will be asked to vote to ratify the agreement, says the union.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada is one of the largest unions in Canada. It represents more than 200,000 workers in many fields across the country and around the world. In addition to its headquarters in Ottawa, the PSAC has 23 regional offices.
