LABOUR BRIEFS
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NPCA workers
ratify first
collective
agreement
WELLAND, ONT. — Mem-
bers of Local 217 of the Ontario
Public Service Employees Union
(OPSEU) ratified their first col-
lective agreement with the Ni-
agara Peninsula Conservation
Authority (NCPA).
The four-year deal includes
annual wage increases of 1.5 per
cent, 1.25 per cent, 1.75 per cent
and 2.25 per cent.
Top-ups for pregnancy and
parental leave were also includ-
ed, along with improvements to
standby and call-in language.
The agreement was ratified by
93 per cent of workers in the new
unit on Nov. 25.
Local 217 — which was
formed in October 2014 — rep-
resents 30 workers in a variety of
positions including technicians,
planners, conservations area
field workers and administrative
support staff.
"I'm delighted by the resound-
ing vote of confidence from this
new local," said OPSEU staff rep-
resentative Paul Attard.
"It's always encouraging when
newly organized workers arrive
at a first collective agreement
that meets their needs and ex-
pectations."
The deal also includes
changes to a
number of non-monetary items,
including job vacancies and
transfers, layoff and recall lan-
guage, and hours of work.
B.C. trucking
companies
ratify deals
with Unifor
VANCOUVER — Unifor began
the process of finalizing collec-
tive agreements with several
Port Metro Vancouver truck-
ing companies after employees
withdrew services on Nov. 23.
Employees launched the la-
bour action after being without
a contract for 18 months. The
drivers previously shut down
Port Metro Vancouver for nearly
four weeks in March 2014 in
protest of wage undercutting
and long wait times.
Six companies have ratified
deals with the union follow-
ing days of around-the-clock
bargaining. These companies
employ about 75 per cent of the
truck drivers represented by
Unifor.
The agreements — which in-
clude guarantees of retroactive
pay and improvements to com-
pensation for transporting cer-
tain goods — will last until 2019.
The deals also require the
companies to contribute to a
benefit plan for both owner-
operators and company drivers.
According to Unifor, shipping
companies Port Transport and
Harbour Link have so far refused
to ratify deals that are consistent
with the union's other collective
agreements.
Drivers at those companies re-
main on strike.
Firefighters in Oviedo, Spain, demonstrate by lighting themselves on fire in front of a regional government
building. The workers are calling for improvements to workplace safety measures.
LABOUR LENS
