Canadian Labour Reporter

2 Canadian HR Reporter, a HAB Press business 2020 CUPE workers get pay equity win MONTREAL — After wait- ing more than nine years, the Université du Québec à Montreal (UQAM) employ- ees, who are represented by Syndicat des employées et em- ployés de l'UQAM (SEUQAM, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Local 1294) will soon be able to receive what is owing to them. The method of calculation the employer used to compute the pay equity adjustments was not adequate, ruled a tribunal on Jan. 31. "This marks a major victory for women's rights to fair and equitable compensation equal for all," says Josée Aubé, CUPE Quebec's human rights coordi- nator. "Employees have waged several huge battles to stamp out discrimination in their companies. It's high time that employers comply with the Pay Equity Act and stop resorting to legal sleight-of-hand to avoid or stall the payments owing." In September 2017, the Tri- bunal administratif du travail (TAT) rejected UQAM's chal- lenge and upheld the ruling by the occupational health and safety standards commission (CNESST), ordering the em- ployer to pay out the shortfall of the pay equity owing, which had been determined by the pay equity committee back on June 1, 2004, says CUPE. However, when enforcing this ruling, UQAM proposed a calculation method that did not put an end to discrimination, says the union. UQAM also attempted to restrict the operative part of the ruling by paying only those employees in the employ of UQAM up to June 1, 2004 and who had not been moved to another position, according to CUPE. In its new decision, TAT ordered the employer to redo its calculations and ensure that employees be paid the "equity rate" applicable to their wage increment, as determined by the Pay Equity Committee, says CUPE. Striking workers at Voith ratify new contract MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — After being on strike for two-and- a-half months, members of Unifor, Local 252 at Voith Hydro in Mississauga, Ont. rati- fied a new collective agreement on Feb. 6. Gains include improvements to both the defined benefit pen- sion plan and the RRSP. Voith employees voted 94 per cent in favour of the tentative agree- ment, says the union. The strike began in Novem- ber 2019 after the employer demanded a wage freeze and other concessions, according to Unifor. In January 2020, Local 252 members rejected a "final of- fer" in a vote that was held after the employer circumvented the bargaining committee using a process available through the Ontario Ministry of Labour, says the union. "Our new contract acknowl- edges our members' role in keeping Voith profitable," says Wilson Stowel, Unifor, Local 252 president. CN rail employees ratify 3-year agreement MONTREAL — Conductors, yard workers and trainpersons employed by Canadian Nation- al Railway (CN) voted 91.3 per cent to ratify a new three-year collective agreement on Jan. 31. More than 3,000 workers are represented by the Team- sters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC). The new contract focuses primarily on safety, specifically with regards to crew fatigue and hours of work. The agreement was reached after an eight-day strike in November last year, says the union. "We did not get everything we wanted, but we still suc- ceeded in reaching a fair agree- ment which will keep the trains running while improving rail safety. That's good news for our members, the company and all Canadians," says François Laporte, national president of Teamsters Canada. LABOUR BRIEFS GET LISTED IN THE HR VENDORS GUIDE Visit hrreporter.com/hr-vendors-guide HR Professional Development Description: Faccaerio. Name volore pre et atur. 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