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Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018
Youth centre
workers reject
tentative deal
HAMILTON, Ont. — Mem-
bers of Ontario Public Service
Employees Union (OPSEU),
Local 216 working at the Arrell
Youth Centre in Hamilton, Ont.,
rejected a tentative deal on Aug.
14, that had been reached on
Aug. 11.
After the employer didn't ne-
gotiate for more than a month, a
mediator was brought in to help,
according to OPSEU.
While some progress was
achieved — including an agree-
ment to implement a standard
back-to-work protocol that
guarantees no reprisals or disci-
pline for employees upon their
return to work — members re-
mained concerned with the em-
ployer's proposed benefits cut,
said the union.
"The CEO must accept full
responsibility for this," said War-
ren (Smokey) Thomas, OPSEU
president. "Taking a 20 per cent
pay increase, while demanding
your frontline staff pay more
out of their own pocket for their
health benefits, is cruel."
CP employees
ratify contract
TORONTO — Canadian Media
Guild (CMG) members working
at the Canadian Press (CP) rati-
fied a tentative agreement with
CP.
The ratification vote was held
July 7 through July 9, and 92.4
per cent of ballots cast were in
favour of the agreement, said the
union.
The tentative agreement
is conditional on a successful
merger with the jointly-spon-
sored pension plan of the Colleg-
es of Applied Arts and Technol-
ogy (CAAT), according to CMG.
If the merger is not success-
ful, the parties will resume full
bargaining for the renewal of the
collective agreement.
The terms include a one-year
extension of the current collec-
tive agreement until Dec. 31,
2019, a wage increase of one
per cent at the date of merger, a
contribution rate of seven per
cent by the members (which
is matched by the employer),
a two per cent interest rate for
2019 for money owed by CP
under the Employee Participa-
tion Program (EPP) and an op-
tion to start EPP payments in
2020 as buy-back of past pension
service, upon terms to be nego-
tiated between the parties, said
the union.
Nor-Pel
workers in
Cape Breton
go on strike
SYDNEY, N.S. — Members of
the Canadian Union of Postal
Workers (CUPW) who deliver
parcels and shuttle mail in Cape
Breton Regional Municipality,
N.S., started a legal strike early
on Aug. 8.
The work stoppage comes af-
ter their employer Nor-Pel — a
contractor for Canada Post —
didn't meet with the union to
bargain a first contract, said the
union.
The workers are making just
above minimum wage, with no
pension or other benefits, ac-
cording to CUPW.
Customers of Canada Post
should expect that no parcels
will be delivered in Sydney,
North Sydney, New Waterford
or Glace Bay.
Mail delivery will also be heav-
ily impacted, according to the
union.
Canada Post uses contractors
like Nor-Pel to keep wages low,
said the union.
Contracts with Canada Post
are bid on every three to five
years and are awarded to the
lowest bidder. Contracts change
hands often, but the incoming
contractor hires the experienced
drivers of the previous contrac-
tor to save on training costs, ac-
cording to CUPW.
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LABOUR LENS
Members of a South Korean labour union cheer during a friendly soccer game between North and South
Korean workers in Seoul, on Aug. 11.
Photo:
REUTERS/Kim
Hong-Ji
