2
Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2017
City of
Moncton
strike averted
with deal
MONCTON, N.B. — City Hall
Employees Association (CHEA)
members accepted a revised fi-
nal offer received from the City
of Moncton on Nov. 23.
About 230 municipal employ-
ees who are members of Pub-
lic Service Alliance of Canada
(PSAC), Local 60200 voted dur-
ing meetings at a local church,
said the union.
"The members accepted the
recommendation of their nego-
tiating team and a majority voted
in favour of accepting the final
offer as a basis for the next col-
lective agreement thus averting
a possible labour dispute," said
Colleen Coffey, PSAC regional
executive vice-president for the
Atlantic region.
The previous agreement ex-
pired Dec. 31, 2016.
Canada Post,
APOC sign
agreement
OTTAWA — Canada Post and
the Association of Postal Offi-
cials of Canada (APOC) signed
a new three-year collective
agreement Nov. 27, four months
before the current agreement
expires.
"Achieving this agreement
well in advance underscores the
respectful, cooperative relation-
ship between the parties," said
Deepak Chopra, president and
CEO of Canada Post.
The agreement includes wage
increases in every year and im-
provements in health-care ben-
efits, said Canada Post.
APOC members had ratified
a tentative agreement earlier in
November.
The new agreement takes ef-
fect on April 1, 2018, immedi-
ately after the current agreement
expires. It will be in effect until
March 31, 2021.
APOC represents more than
3,500 supervisors and support
staff, such as trainers and route-
measurement officers and some
employees in sales.
OPSEU
to challenge
college back-
to-work law
TORONTO — The Ontario
Public Service Employees Union
(OPSEU) said on Nov. 23 it plans
to challenge the Ontario govern-
ment's recent back-to-work leg-
islation in court.
The province ended a five-
week strike by Ontario college
faculty on Nov. 20 by passing Bill
178 and the Colleges of Applied
Arts and Technology Labour
Dispute Resolution Act, 2017 on
Nov. 19.
"For over a decade, the Su-
preme Court of Canada has
viewed collective bargaining
as a protected right under the
charter," said Warren (Smokey)
Thomas, OPSEU president.
"More recently, the court has
extended that protection to the
right to strike."
Thomas said the law violated
the Canadian Charter of Rights
and Freedoms, specifically Sec-
tion 2 (d), which protects free-
dom of association.
On Nov. 16, hours after 86 per
cent of college faculty had reject-
ed the colleges' contract offer,
Ontario premier Kathleen Wyn-
ne met with both sides and gave
them three hours to settle the
strike, according to the union.
Bill 178 gave OPSEU and the
colleges 90 days to settle the cur-
rent contract dispute at arbitra-
tion, said the union.
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LABOUR LENS
Britain's GMB union stages a protest outside parliament on the day Finance Minister Philip Hammond
presents his budget in London, on Nov. 22.
