Canadian Labour Reporter

2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018 Mediated settlement at Seaspan in Vancouver VANCOUVER — It took two strike mandates and two agree- ment rejections but members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Work- ers (IAM), Local 692 ratified the five-union poly-party contract agreement with Seaspan Vancou- ver Shipyards on Nov. 22. "This employer wanted to re- move seniority provisions of our current collective agreement," said Walter Gerlach, IAM district lodge 250 directing business rep- resentative. "We have dispatch rights in the shipyards and the employer wanted to control them, it was among 11 proposals they in- troduced to weaken our seniority rights. They also wanted to assign work from one union's jurisdic- tion to another." That prompted a 99.7 per cent strike mandate from the member- ship, said the union. However, Seaspan refused to drop its demand for a compressed work week to which the unions responded with another 72-hour strike notice. This memorandum of agreement was also rejected. Finally, the two sides agreed to a mediated settlement which the five unions involved ratified by more than 60 per cent, said IAM. The five-year agreement pro- vides wage increases of two per cent plus $0.15 per hour for health and welfare or pensions in the first, second and third year re- spectively and a three per cent wage increase plus $0.15 per hour for health and welfare or pensions in the fourth and fifth year respec- tively, said the union. Kativik region employees vote to strike KUUJJUAQ, Que. — Members of the Kativik Regional Govern- ment Employees Union (KRGEU) in Kuujjuaq, Que., on Nov. 26 vot- ed 93 per cent in favour of six days of strike to use when appropriate. After three years of negotia- tions, the 200 employees of the union affiliated to the Fédéra- tion des employées et employés de services publics (FEESPCSN), decided it was time to step up the pressure, said the union. An agreement in principle was concluded on April 18, however, when a dispute arose concerning retroactivity for employees who have left KRG, it put an end to the settlement, said KRGEU. KRGEU represents more than 250 members, in 14 communities of the Nunavik region, above the 55th parallel in Quebec. Toronto Hydro IT workers unionize TORONTO — Information technology (IT) professionals at Toronto Hydro voted to join the Society of United Professionals, IFPTE Local 160 on Nov. 26. The more than 80 employees at Toronto's municipally-owned company won collective bargain- ing rights after a year-long fight at the Ontario Labour Relations Board, said the union. Toronto Hydro IT employees were aware of the union because it already represents Toronto Hydro engineers, said the union. Restructuring, dismissal with- out cause and non-transparent hiring practices prompted some employees to reach out, said the union. This is the third group of em- ployees that have chosen the union this year, following the pro- fessionals who work for the Na- tional Judicial Institute in Ottawa and Toronto's Chinese and South- east Asian Legal Clinic. The union (formerly The So- ciety of Energy Professionals) is a union of more than 8,000 profes- sionals in Ontario. LABOUR BRIEFS FORMERLY CLV REPORTS Serving labour relations professionals since 1956 www.labour-reporter.com Published weekly by omson Reuters Canada Ltd. Subscription rate: $610 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.thomsonreuters.ca 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 Sales Manager Paul Burton | (416) 649-9928 paul.burton@thomsonreuters.com Marketing Co-ordinator Keith Fulford | (416) 649-9585 keith.fulford@thomsonreuters.com © 2018 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 LABOUR LENS Photo: REUTERS/Susana Vera GM workers — members of Unifor union — picket at an entrance to the General Motors' assembly plant in Oshawa, Ont., on Nov. 26. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio

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