Canadian Labour Reporter

lAboUr brieFs 2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2014 city staff ers in Kootenay area ratify new deal NeLSON, B.c. — The Cana- dian Union of Public Employ- ees has ratified a new collective agreement with the Regional District of Central Kootenay, covering municipal staffers in and around Nelson, B.C. On Nov. 28, CUPE local 2262 ratified the three-year agree- ment for its 40 employers, in- cluding arenas, aquatic centres and landfills. The bargaining unit is made of up lifeguards, landfill attendants and mainte- nance, custodial and customer service representatives. The bargaining was "respect- ful and productive," according to Leford Lafayette, president of the union's local chapter. "This follows on the heels of the agreement we reached in the summer with the Castlegar, B.C. golf course — a tough round of bargaining that still resulted in a negotiated, no-concessions col- lective agreement," he explained, adding that only three meetings with the district were necessary to hammer out the deal. As part of the new deal, which expires on Feb. 28, 2015, Koote- nay district employees will get wage hikes of 1.5 per cent, 1.4 per cent and 1.5 per cent in each year of the contract. Improvements were also made to definition lan- guage and clothing and optical allowances. The employer has yet to ratify the collective agreement. Municipal workers strike across Quebec QUeBec ciTY — More than 5,000 municipal employees across Quebec launched a day- long strike on Nov. 26 to protest the province's pension reform. One day earlier, on Nov. 25, thousands of municipal work- ers across Quebec took to the street for 15 minutes to express their dissatisfaction. Further demonstrations are expected. The employees, rep- resented by the Coalition Syndicale pour la Libre Négociation (Union Co- alition for Free Negotiation), are holding demonstrations outside city halls and work- places in 18 cities across Que- bec. The coalition is calling on workers to speak out against the tabling of Bill 3 on pension plans. Bill 3, introduced in June, will see employers and employees sharing a 50-50 split in contribu- tions to the municipal pension plan. Additionally, retirees may be required to contribute to pen- sion shortfalls as the province at- tempts to address a pension plan deficit of $4 billion. Critics of the legislation claim it steamrolls nego- tiation rights and overlooks more than 120 collective agreements governing mu- nicipal workers through- out the province. The strike was given the green light by the Que- bec Labour Relations Board after the coalition committed to providing residents with essential services. While police and fire- fighters have been vocal in their opposition to Bill 3, they are not legally allowed to strike. The majority of municipal employees in Quebec are part of the coalition's membership. The coalition consists of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Fédération des Employées et Employés de Ser- vices Publics, the Fédération Indépendante des Syndicats Autonomes, the Fédération de Policiers et Policières Munici- paux du Québec, the Associa- tion des Pompiers de Montréal, the Regroupement des Associ- ations de Pompiers du Québec and the Syndicat des Pompiers et Pompières du Québec. Demonstrators in Lakewood, Colo., rallied in support of Wal-Mart workers across the U.S. The crowd carried signs calling for increases in minimum wage as well as union representation for employees. FORMeRLY cLV RePORTS Serving labour relations professionals since 1956 www.labour-reporter.com Published weekly by omson Reuters canada Ltd. 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