First collective agreement at Stelia Mirabel; Pepsi workers ratify 5-year contract
Atlantic Gold employees join USW
MOOSE RIVER, N.S. — Employees of the Atlantic Gold mining operations in Moose River, N.S., voted to join the United Steelworkers (USW) union on April 22.
After a majority of employees signed union cards in order to join the union, an application to certify was filed with the Nova Scotia Labour Board. The labour board ordered a vote by employees and a large majority of workers voted in favour of joining the union, says USW.
The Atlantic Gold workers decided to join the USW in order to address issues and concerns including health and safety, working conditions and unfulfilled promises regarding wages and promotions, says the union.
“The workers are well-aware that they are generating healthy profits for their employer, yet their wages and working conditions are significantly inferior than the standards in the mining sector, not only in Atlantic Canada, but also at the St Barbara Limited gold-mining operations in Australia,” says Marty Warren, USW director for Atlantic Canada and Ontario.
Next steps for the workers will include electing a bargaining committee and negotiating their first collective agreement with the employer, says USW.
The 164 new members of the USW include muck-truck operators, heavy equipment operators, graders and mill workers at Atlantic Gold, which operates an open pit mine as well as milling and other processes at the site, about 100 kilometres east of Halifax. The site is operated by a subsidiary of an Australian gold mining company, St Barbara, says the union.
First collective agreement at Stelia Mirabel
MONTREAL — New members of the Stelia Aerospace Canada unit (Local 712) at Mirabel airport in Montreal ratified their first collective agreement on April 24.
“The major challenge of this negotiation was to improve and ensure the upkeep of working conditions as employers generally seek to reduce working conditions since the beginning of the pandemic,” says Éric Rancourt, business representative at district 11, responsible for the Stelia Mirabel unit of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).
Pepsi workers ratify 5-year contract
SUDBURY, Ont. — Members at Pepsi bottling company in Sudbury, Ont. ratified a new five-year collective agreement on April 19 that included wage increases in each year of the contract.
In year one, United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW), Local 175 members receive a $0.10-per-hour increase, in addition to $230 lump sum payment. In year two, members will receive $0.50 per hour, year three $0.55 per hour, year four $0.60 per hour and year five $0.60 per hour, accounting for a $2.35 hourly increase over the life of the contract, says the union.
The afternoon shift premium will see increases of $1.30 per hour in year two and $1.35 per hour in year four, in addition to increases to the training and education fund at $650 per year, says UFCW.
The new contract also sees the LTD premium 100 per cent funded by the employer for the core 35 per cent, a significant achievement for these workers. Members will also be able to bank more time with this collective agreement, up to 160 hours, says the union.
