Canadian Labour Reporter

2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2017 CUPE, City of Cambridge reach tentative agreement CAMBRIDGE, Ont. — Local 32 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE 32) representing outside workers of the City of Cambridge have reached a tentative agreement which could bring their strike to an end after just six days. After bargaining for most of the day, the two sides reached the tentative deal just before 10:30 p.m., on Feb. 7. Details will not be made public until the members of CUPE 32 review the agreement and vote on its ratification. "I won't comment on the spe- cifics right now," said Ray Burig- ana, president of CUPE 32. "We are going to take it back to our members." Lethbridge Black Velvet workers ratify deal LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — United Food and Commercial Work- ers Canada (UFCW) Local 401 members working at Black Velvet Distillers in Lethbridge, Alta., have ratified a new collec- tive agreement. The contract includes a num- ber of gains such as pension increases in each year, an im- proved boot allowance, increas- es to benefits including eye glass coverage as well as improved chiropractic and wellness care, according to UFCW. The contract also features significant increases to shift premiums, as well as wage increases in each year of the agreement. Members will also receive retroactive pay, said the union. Black Velvet whisky has been produced in Canada since 1951 and is sold in more than 55 countries around the world. Guards locked out of deaf school BELLEVILLE, Ont. — Security guards at an Ontario govern- ment school for deaf children have been locked out of their jobs, according to the union. Security guards at Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf in Belleville, Ont. — owned and operated by the Ontario govern- ment — were locked out Feb. 8. "This case is particularly ob- jectionable because the Ontario government is complicit in the shoddy treatment of these work- ers," said Marty Warren, Ontario director of the United Steel- workers (USW), which repre- sents the security guards. The guards have been asked to work up to 60 hours a week with- out overtime pay, said the union. The seven security guards at the school have been trying to negotiate their first collec- tive agreement after joining the USW in late 2015. They have met with considerable resistance in their attempt to secure a con- tract, said the union. The security guards earn less than $13 an hour and are re- quired to pay up to $1,300 per year for benefits. They requested to join a union-sponsored ben- efit plan that would save money for the employer and employees' alike, but the proposal was re- jected by the employer, accord- ing to USW. The union has filed an appli- cation for first contract arbitra- tion at the Ontario Labour Rela- tions Board (OLRB), seeking the OLRB's assistance with achiev- ing a fair agreement. FORMERLY CLV REPORTS Serving labour relations professionals since 1956 www.labour-reporter.com Published weekly by omson Reuters Canada Ltd. Subscription rate: $595 per year Customer Service Tel: (416) 609-3800 (Toronto) (800) 387-5164 (outside Toronto) Fax: (416) 298-5106 Email: customersupport.legaltaxcanada @tr.com Website: www.carswell.com Director, Media Solutions, Canada Karen Lorimer Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Todd Humber Editor/Supervisor Sarah Dobson | (416) 649-7896 sarah.dobson@thomsonreuters.com News Editor John Dujay | (416) 298-5129 john.dujay@thomsonreuters.com Contributing Editor Jeff rey R. Smith Marketing Co-ordinator Keith Fulford | (416) 649-9585 keith.fulford@thomsonreuters.com © 2017 omson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher. e publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional advice. If legal or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. e analysis contained herein represents the opinion of the authors and should in no way be construed as being either offi cial or unoffi cial policy of any governmental body. ISSN 0045-5113 Publications Registration 2089 Canadian Labour Reporter is part of the Canadian HR Reporter group of publications. Visit www.hrreporter.com for more information. Labour Reporter Canadian www.labour-reporter.com Photo: Paulo Whitaker (Reuters) LABOUR LENS During a police strike over wages that began Feb. 4, Brazilian soldiers patrol the streets of Vila Velha, Espirito Santo, Brazil, on Feb. 11. More than 3,100 soldiers and members of a federal police force took to the streets, which saw a six-fold increase in murders as police refused to work. LABOUR BRIEFS

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