Agreement at
Scarborough,
Ont., support
services
SCARBOROUGH, Ont. —
Hours before a midnight strike
deadline, 48 workers repre-
sented by the Ontario Public
Service Employees Union (OP-
SEU) in Local 518 reached a
tentative deal with Settlement
Assistance and Family Support
Services (SAFSS) in Scarbor-
ough, Ont.
"We are so thrilled and proud
of our members for persevering
through these 18 months of ne-
gotiations, and we thank them
for their tenacity," said Local
518 bargaining chair Valentina
Khoudiakova.
Details of the contract — Lo-
cal 518's first as members of OP-
SEU — will not be released until
it is ratified.
OPSEU members at SAFSS
provide a variety of services for
recent immigrants.
Mine workers
locked out
TEXADA ISLAND, B.C. —
United Steelworkers (USW)
members employed at the Texa-
da Quarrying limestone mine on
Texada Island, B.C., have been
locked out by Lafarge manage-
ment, according to the union.
After several months of nego-
tiations, the parties had agreed
to most items until Lafarge
demanded that seniority be
stripped of every employee at the
quarry, said the union.
"Steelworkers have been
working at Texada since 1947
and during that time we have
strived to make improvements
to the collective agreement ev-
ery time we have bargained," said
Earl Graham, USW district 3
staff representative.
Texada Island has a history of
mining limestone dating back
as early as 1918. The mine is the
oldest active mine in the prov-
ince and produces limestone
used to make cement.
The USW is calling on Lafarge
to return to the bargaining table.
PSAC, CRA
workers ratify
new contract
OTTAWA — Public Service Al-
liance of Canada (PSAC) and the
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
ratified a new collective agree-
ment.
This puts an end to a bargain-
ing process that took more than
four years, said the union.
The union's negotiating team
reached a tentative agreement
with the CRA in August. This
came after PSAC members re-
jected an earlier offer and de-
manded fair compensation.
"It has been a long road, but
our members finally have a new
contract," said Bob Campbell,
national president of the Union
of Taxation Employees.
The agreement includes a
minimum of 5.75 per cent total
increases to rates of pay, retroac-
tive from 2012 to 2015.
It also provides for various
leave improvements and en-
hances protection against job
losses due to contracting out, ac-
cording to the union.
"Our members at the CRA
stood strong over the last four
years," said Robyn Benson, na-
tional president of PSAC. "As a
result of this solidarity, their new
contract recognizes the valuable
public services they provide to
all Canadians."
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LABOUR LENS
Greek labour unions protest over wages, pension and labour agreements in Athens, on Oct. 17.
