Canadian Labour Reporter

lAbour brieFs 2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2014 bombardier workers at go transit ratify new collective agreement toRonto — Bombardier workers operating GO Transit ratified a new collective agree- ment, after 20 months of bar- gaining. The new agreement — which is set to expire at the end of 2017 — will see a wage increase of 12.33 per cent over the life of the contract. Other standard and opera- tional clauses, including annual vacation and train maintenance, were also improved. "The negotiation was far from easy but we absolutely wanted to avoid any interruption of ser- vice for the users while nego- tiating a contract that was fair for the workers," said George MacPherson, general chairman for Division 660 of the Team- sters Canada Rail Conference, which represents Bombardier employees. The expansion of the shut- tle service between Pearson Airport and Union Station in Toronto created 65 new po- sitions. In addition to that, outsourcing will be gradually reduced and eventually elimi- nated. "Expansion of service to commuter rail is considerable and the creation of good pay- ing, unionized jobs is a posi- tive development for Ontario workers," MacPherson said. "This agreement provides sta- bility to the travelling public and the workers within the commuter rail industry in On- tario, and provides a fair and decent increase for the Team- sters membership." union spurns toronto Mayor Ford's response to bomb threat toRonto — Toronto Mayor Rob Ford received a bomb threat at City Hall that was diffused in- appropriately and irresponsibly, according to the union repre- senting city staffers. The threat — which was made on Aug. 11 and warned City Hall would "blow" if Ford didn't resign — was followed by a me- dia scrum, which the Canadian Union of Public Employees said jeopardized the safety of city hall employees. In response to the incident, CUPE Local 79 filed a policy grievance and announced its in- tention to assist members wish- ing to file individual grievances against the city. Mayor Ford brushed off the grievance, saying he followed protocol and diligently followed instructions from security. According to the union, how- ever, the swiftly put together press conference was a direct violation of policies put in place to handle these potentially dan- gerous situations. "From the moment media were first alerted to the existence of a purported bomb threat, there flowed a complete break- down of policies and proce- dures to deal with such threats," said Tim Maguire, president of CUPE Local 79, who added that the move is not politically moti- vated. "It is not acceptable for poli- cies governing employee health and safety to be infected by the same flagrant and casual disre- gard for the rules that seem to be a way of life in some quarters of City Hall these days." CUPE Local 79 also intends to petition the Ministry of La- bour to conduct an investiga- tion and determine whether the city adhered to its own policies and the Occupational Health and Safety Act. "Our members are entitled to expect and have every right to expect a structured rational response to threats, particularly when those threats could have an impact on their well-being," Maguire added. Workers from Macau's six major casinos — led by the Forefront of Macau Gaming union — clash with police during a protest. More than 1,000 workers took to the streets to demand higher wages. FoRMeRLy CLv RePoRtS Serving labour relations professionals since 1956 www.labour-reporter.com Published weekly by omson Reuters Canada Ltd. 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If legal or other expert assistanceis 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.labourreporter.com Photo: Bobby Yip (Reuters) lABoUr lens

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