Finning deal ratified despite pandemic; Workers at PMI Rimouski sign contract
Vancouver’s QMUNITY employees sign contract
VANCOUVER — The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Local 3495 and QMUNITY — B.C.’s queer, trans and two-spirit resource centre — ratified a new collective agreement on Oct. 5.
The new contract, retroactive to Jan. 1, and running until March 31, 2023, includes wage matching to comparable classifications in the community social services provincial agreement, applied to all three steps of each classification. It also includes a general wage increase of three per cent in the final year of the agreement, says the union.
The contract includes benefit improvements for bereavement and compassionate care leave, increases for parental leave and an agreement to establish a joint review process for introducing an affordable pension plan by June 30, 2021, says CUPE.
The previous collective agreement expired on Dec. 31, 2019. On Aug. 20, the union bargaining committee presented the union’s proposals to QMUNITY.
The parties were able to secure a tentative agreement after just two more days of negotiations, says the union.
CUPE represents employees who provide peer support, education, counselling, social work, and fundraising services at QMUNITY.
Finning deal ratified despite pandemic
SURREY, B.C. – More than 700 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). Local 692 working for Finning across British Columbia and the Yukon accepted a new collective agreement on Oct. 8.
The three-year deal brought a wage increase of one per cent per year over the first two years and two per cent in the final year. A workshare program was initiated by the employer, but it is voluntary, meaning members can decide whether or not they will participate. Other language changes were also incorporated into the agreement, says the union.
“There were many challenges while conducting the vote,” says Chris MacDonald, business representative of IAM District 250. “There were 29 different seniority lists, 29 different sites, workgroups and branches located in B.C. and the Yukon.”
Morale among the members was low, and changes in the structure of the company and moving work from small to larger centres caused uncertainty and discontent. The major concerns were job security, pensions, wages, and benefits. The company did not have proposals to remove any benefits but would not move on any of the bargaining committee’s proposals, says IAM.
Workers at PMI Rimouski sign contract
RIMOUSKI, Que. — Following a vote held at a meeting on Sept. 18, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), Local 501 members at Produits métalliques PMI in Rimouski, Que. adopted the collective agreement.
The new agreement for the 30 union members at this plant, who specialize in the design, fabrication, and installation of steel structures, will cover the period from September 2020 to May 2025, says the union.
Earnings include salary increases of three per cent for the first year, two per cent for the second year, and 1.5 per cent for the remaining years, plus two per cent following the annual review, says UFCW.
Other improvements have been made to the employment contract including a weekly attendance bonus of $40 per week, a mobile leave/sick leave after one year of service that can be redeemed at the end of the year, a new holiday on Jan. 2, a new trainer’s bonus of $0.75 and the evening- and night-premium increases from $1 to $1.25 per hour and the supervisor-replacement premium increases from $1 to $1.20, says the union.
