Canadian Labour Reporter

Montreal city workers' agree to tentative deal MONTREAL — The largest union representing City of Mon- treal employees — the Cana- dian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Local 429 — for the in- side workers' union, announced that a tentative agreement has been reached with their employ- er on July 9. Talks wrapped up following two years of negotiations. The new contract will set out the working conditions of almost 10,000 city employees, says the union. "The negotiations weren't al- ways easy due to the pandemic, but we managed to get things done with the help of a me- diator," says Francine Bouliane, president of CUPE 429. Union members will have an opportunity to vote on and ratify the agreement at a general meet- ing on Sept. 7. Tentative agreement at Northwood HALIFAX – Unifor, Local 4606 reached a tentative agreement on July 8 with Northwood se- niors centre at the Halifax long- term care facility. "The bargaining commit- tee worked hard to achieve im- provements for these workers, who bore the brunt of the CO- VID crisis in long-term care in Nova Scotia," says Linda Mac- Neil, Unifor Atlantic regional director. The deal covers 520 continu- ing care assistants, licensed practical nurses, dietary aides, retirement living assistants, utility workers, housekeeping, cooks, cook assistants, seam- stress, maintenance, laundry workers, stores clerks, area sup- port clerks and painters. "The pandemic revealed how difficult conditions are in long- term care. This tentative agree- ment takes steps to address key concerns for these workers and provides a foundation to build on for the future," says Angela Strong, Unifor Local 4606 unit chair. OPSEU files unfair bargaining practice TORONTO — The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) filed an unfair labour practice charge on July 7 with the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) against the Black Creek Community Health Centre in Toronto. "Management and their in- competent legal team haven't just mishandled contract talks, they've purposely derailed the bargaining process by refusing to treat front-line workers with Subscribe to Canada's indispensable guide to human resources management since 1987 dignity and respect," says War- ren (Smokey) Thomas, Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) president. The workers have been on strike since June 15. Ontario university staff gain pension plan TORONTO — After a decade of efforts to find a long-term solu- tion to concerns over their re- tirement security, employees at three Ontario universities have a new pension plan covering 35,000 members and managing more than $10 billion in assets. "This is truly a ground-break- ing achievement that has been years in the making," says Marty Warren, Ontario director of the United Steelworkers (USW), representing workers who are members of the new university pension plan, which officially comes into effect on July 1. The plan is defined benefit, jointly sponsored and covers employees and retirees from the University of Toronto, Queen's University and the University of Guelph, including more than 6,000 workers represented by the USW, says the union. The pension plan, which has been registered with the Finan- cial Services Regulatory Author- ity of Ontario (FSRA), replaces five separate pension plans that previously existed at the three universities, says USW. www.hrreporter.com/subscribe FORMERLY CLV REPORTS Serving labour relations professionals since 1956 www.hrreporter.com/labour Subscription rate: $599 per year Customer Service subscriptions@kmimedia.ca President Tim Duce Editor/Supervisor Sarah Dobson | (416) 644-8740 Ext. 330 sarah.dobson@keymedia.com News Editor John Dujay | (416) 644-8740 Ext. 321 john.dujay@keymedia.com Employment Law Editor Jeffrey R. Smith | (416) 644 8740 Ext. 319 jeffrey.r.smith@keymedia.com Business Development Manager Fred Crossley | (416) 644-8740 Ext. 236 fred.crossley@keymedia.com NAUK Subscriptions Coordinator Donnabel Reyes | (416) 644-8740 Ext. 243 donnabel.reyes@keymedia.com ©Key Media Canada (HR) Ltd. All rights reserved. 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