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Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2017
Ontario
health-care
workers
vote to strike
TORONTO — Workers at four
of Ontario's Local Health Inte-
gration Networks (LHINs) voted
94 per cent in favour of a strike
mandate on Dec. 1.
"With these vote results,
we will return to the table de-
termined to achieve a fair and
reasonable contract," said Julie
Lenko, chair of OPSEU's LHINs
central bargaining team. "Those
who work in the home and
community-care sector do this
work because we care about our
patients first and foremost, but
proper patient care depends on
respect for front-line workers."
Negotiations between the
LHINS and the Ontario Public
Service Employees Union (OP-
SEU) resume Dec. 15.
This is the first round of bar-
gaining for LHINs workers since
Queen's Park integrated all of
the province's Community Care
Access Centres (CCACs) into
the LHINs in June 2017, said the
union.
OPSEU represents more than
600 community health-care
professionals employed by the
LHINs across four regions: the
Hamilton Niagara Haldimand
Brant LHIN, the Central East
LHIN, the North Simcoe Mus-
koka LHIN, and the North East
LHIN.
Despite repeated promises
from the Ministry of Health and
Long-Term Care that the transi-
tion would be smooth, the reality
at the bargaining table has been
anything but, said Lenko.
B.C. workers
ratify
Lifetimer
Boats deal
DUNCAN, B.C. — Members
of International Association
of Machinists and Aerospace
Workers (IAM) Local 456 rati-
fied a new collective agreement
on Dec. 4 with Lifetimer Boats in
Duncan, B.C.
The five-year agreement pro-
vides wage increases of two per
cent in each year. Other agree-
ment highlights include an op-
tion to replace RRSP contribu-
tions with the IAM pension plan
or IAM Local Lodge 692 plan, an
out-of-town premium increased
to $1 per hour and the introduc-
tion of spray-foam premium,
said the union.
The seven employees consist
of welders, fitters and mechanics
who perform custom fabrication
and welding on aluminum boats.
Recognition
of skills key
to deal: IAM
RICHMOND, B.C. — Workers
at Richmond Chrysler in Rich-
mond, B.C. — who are members
of International Association
of Machinists and Aerospace
Workers (IAM) Local Lodge
1857 — ratified a new collective
agreement on Nov. 29.
"It was the restructuring of
the auto technician's wage scale
and the increased base rate for
service advisors that drove this
agreement," said Walter Ger-
lach, IAM District Lodge 250
directing business representa-
tive. "The majority of our auto
technicians are level three and
the restructuring provided those
qualified members with a 6.85
per cent wage increase in the
first year of the agreement."
The four-year agreement pro-
vides general wage increases of
1.5 per cent the first year and two
per cent in each of the remaining
three years, according to IAM.
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LABOUR LENS
Protesters from the communist-af liated trade union PAME try to bring down the entrance of the Greek
labour ministry during a demonstration against changes to laws about calling strikes in Athens on Dec. 5.
