Canadian Labour Reporter

Pulp and paper unions develop bargaining strategy VANCOUVER — Unifor and the Public and Private Workers of Canada (PPWC) recently held a meeting in Vancouver to pre- pare for collective bargaining in 2017. The gathering marked the third joint meeting between the unions. PPWC and Unifor have par- ticipated in pattern bargaining in the past. The parties' bargain- ing strategy under the Joint Pulp and Paper Caucus has resulted in maintaining common pen- sion, wage and benefit language in the collective agreements of both organizations, according to Unifor. The union and PPWC cur- rently collaborate on the Pulp and Paper Industry Pension Plan as well as the Pulp and Paper Safety Conference. PPWC represents thousands of workers across British Co- lumbia while Unifor represents about 310,000 workers across the country. OLG workers unionize with PSAC TORONTO — Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) employees working at the Lesmill Lab facili- ty in Toronto have unionized un- der the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). The union was certified to represent the 92 OLG workers by the Ontario Labour Rela- tions Board on May 16. Accord- ing to the union, the employees reached out following the union- ization of colleagues at the OLG headquarters in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Years of frozen wages and concerns about an impending privatization process motivated the organization effort, PSAC said. The workers' wages and work- ing conditions will be secure while the parties negotiate a col- lective agreement. The privati- zation process will have no effect on PSAC's representation of the Lesmill Lab employees, said the union. French railway, port workers strike PARIS — Strikes by French rail- way and port workers halved train services and prompted cancellation of ferry links to Britain as labour unions sought to force President Francois Hol- lande's government into retreat on labour law reforms. Rail strikes reduced high- speed and inter-city services by 40 to 50 per cent, also heavily disrupting local and suburban commuter lines, said the So- ciété nationale des chemins de fer français (SNCF) state railway company. Truckers maintained block- ades in a bid to strangle deliver- ies in and out of fuel and food distribution depots. At issue are law changes de- signed to make it easier for em- ployers to hire and fire staff and to opt out of cumbersome na- tional rules in favour of in-house accords on pay. Hollande's government says the change will encourage firms to recruit and combat an un- employment that has remained above 10 per cent. Critics say the reform will un- dermine the standards of pro- tection enshrined for decades in national labour law. The plan, opposed by three in four French people, according to pollsters, has provoked weeks of often violent demonstrations and added strains on police who were already stretched by extra security duties in the wake of last November's deadly Islamist at- tacks on France. LABOUR BRIEFS 2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2016 FORMERLY CLV REPORTS Serving labour relations professionals since 1956 www.labour-reporter.com Published weekly by omson Reuters Canada Ltd. Subscription rate: $595 per year Customer Service Tel: (416) 609-3800 (Toronto) (800) 387-5164 (outside Toronto) Fax: (416) 298-5106 Email: carswell.customerrelations@ thomsonreuters.com Website: www.carswell.com Director, Carswell Media Karen Lorimer Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Todd Humber Editor/Supervisor Sarah Dobson | (416) 649-7896 sarah.dobson@thomsonreuters.com News Editor Liz Foster | (416) 298-5129 liz.foster@thomsonreuters.com Marketing Co-ordinator Keith Fulford | (416) 649-9585 keith.fulford@thomsonreuters.com © 2016 Carswell, a division of omson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher. e publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional advice. If legal or other expert assistance is 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: Jean-Paul Pelissier (Reuters) LABOUR LENS French gendarmes take position after striking workers blockaded roads near the oil refi nery at Fos-Sur-Mer as the country's CGT and FO unions continue to protest against labour market reforms.

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