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Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2019
USW submits
new proposal
to ABI
BÉCANCOUR, Que. — The
United Steelworkers (USW)
union presented a counter-pro-
posal to management of the ABI
aluminum smelter in Bécancour,
Que., on March 21, which was
10 days after locked-out work-
ers rejected a concession-laden
company offer by an 82 per cent
majority.
The union hopes its counter-
proposal will pave the way for
the negotiation of a settlement
between the parties to resolve
the 14-month lockout, including
a mutually acceptable return-to-
work protocol, said USW.
"Even though most issues
were already resolved prior to
the lockout, we have taken into
account the new requests made
by the company and have ad-
dressed them in our counter-
proposal. We have even pro-
posed new compromises on
some issues, compared to our
position during the last round
of negotiations," said Clément
Masse, USW, Local 9700 presi-
dent, representing 1,030 locked-
out ABI workers.
The counter-proposal incor-
porates a pension-plan fund-
ing model put forward by the
employer, moving away from a
defined benefit plan where risk
is assumed by the employer, said
the union.
"The member-funded pen-
sion plan is a huge concession
compared to the former defined
benefit plan, given that the risk is
borne by the workers. This mod-
el should provide a plan similar
to what is in place in other alumi-
num smelters. This allows Alcoa
to meet shareholder objectives
and remove the pension plan
from the liability column of
its financial statements," said
Masse.
The union's proposal calls for
wage increases to be spread over
an eight-year period, retroactive
to the expiry of the previous col-
lective agreement in November
2017, said USW.
The employees at the Bécan-
cour smelter were locked out on
Jan. 11, 2018, by Alcoa and Rio
Tinto.
Hydro-Québec recently re-
ported that the lockout cost the
publicly owned utility $165 mil-
lion in lost revenues in 2018.
Collin's
Ambulance
workers join
NAPE
BURIN, N.L. — The Newfound-
land and Labrador Association
of Public and Private Employees
(NAPE) was certified as the bar-
gaining agent for workers with
Collin's Ambulance Service in
Burin, N.L., and it successfully
negotiated an agreement on
March 21 with the employer.
About 12 employees work at
Collin's which services the Bu-
rin Peninsula and is a contracted
service provider with Eastern
Health, said the union.
Unifor in talks
with GM to
save jobs in
Oshawa, Ont.
OSHAWA, Ont. — Unifor of-
ficials, including Jerry Dias, na-
tional president, met on March
19 with senior General Motors
(GM) officials to find ways to
preserve jobs in Oshawa, Ont.
"I am much more confident
today than I was a month ago
that together we will find a reso-
lution," said Dias. "While some
of our members qualify for re-
tirement, others need ongoing
good paying jobs to support
their families. We are commit-
ted to work with GM to find so-
lutions for both."
Unifor began constructive ne-
gotiations with GM on Feb. 25,
2019, said the union.
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Balloons of French Force Ouvriere (FO) labour union y during a demonstration in Paris on March 19
against the French government's reforms.
