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Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2019
Strike vote
at Loblaws
distribution
centre
AJAX, Ont. — Unifor members
at a Loblaws warehouse in Ajax,
Ont., voted 98 per cent on Jan 23
in favour of strike action during
ongoing negotiations with the
company.
"Members at the Loblaws
warehouse work under high-
stress, time-sensitive conditions
to deliver goods to customers
and stores across the province,"
said Jerry Dias, Unifor national
president. "This strike man-
date is a united show of support
for the bargaining committee
in their negotiations with this
corporate Goliath."
About 1,000 employees work
at the Loblaws Ajax Distribution
Centre, and are represented by
Unifor, Local 222. The current
collective agreement expires on
Feb. 9, said the union.
"Our jobs at the distribu-
tion centre support hundreds
of families across the Durham
Region," said Colin James, Local
222 president.
"The public has heard horror
stories about working condi-
tions in warehouses in recent
months, but Local 222 members
will not allow their working con-
ditions to be eroded," said James.
Members are advocating for
respect in the workplace, estab-
lishing a pension, and against
increased precarity in their jobs,
said Unifor.
Casino Rama
workers in
Orillia, Ont.,
reach new deal
ORILLIA, Ont. — Unifor, Local
1090 signed a tentative agreement
with Casino Rama just before
midnight on Jan. 23, avoiding a
strike.
"Unifor members are pivotal
to the success of Casino Rama,"
said Jerry Dias, Unifor national
president. "Casino Rama work-
ers have made terrific gains in
the short time since they united
to form a union."
The bargaining committee
prioritized compensation to
get more in line with other ca-
sinos in Ontario. Members had
also identified scheduling for a
reasonable work-life balance as
an area for improvement in the
next contract, said the union.
Eastern
Quebec
Seafoods
workers ratify
MATANE, Que. — United
Food and Commercial Work-
ers union (UFCW) Canada,
Local 501 members working
at Eastern Quebec Seafoods in
Matane, Que., signed a new col-
lective agreement on Jan. 24 that
provides higher wages and an
early-retirement program.
As part of the new contract,
the food processing members
— who work as quality con-
trollers at the company's plant
— will enjoy salary increases of
2.6 per cent per year, better de-
fined schedules, rotating days
off, longer breaks, enrollment in
the UFCW Quebec Dental Care
Plan and an early retirement
program, said UFCW.
"With each bargaining ses-
sion, the Eastern Quebec
Seafoods members have man-
aged to improve their working
conditions and build on past
collective agreements," said
Daniel Nadeau, the UFCW
Local 501 director for eastern
Quebec.
UFCW Canada Local 501 rep-
resents more than 19,000 mem-
bers working in food retail and
processing, manufacturing and
the technical and professional
sectors at hundreds of compa-
nies across Quebec and north-
ern New Brunswick.
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