Unifor Announces Ratification of Labor Agreement with Resolute
Rubber and Wood | 2018-05-02 07:58:38
According to sources, 74% of the Unifor members voted in favor of the deal, which includes wage increase of 2% in the first two years and 2.5% in the next two years.
By Paul Ploumis
SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Resolute Forest Products (RFP) has announced ratification of the collective labor agreement with Unifor in Canada. This renews the collective agreement for a period of four years at eight of its pulp and paper operations in Canada. RFP had arrived at a tentative agreement with the labor union on April 16th towards renewal of collective agreements. The majority of union members at all mills had accepted the agreement during the ratification process.
Yves Laflamme, president and chief executive officer, RFP expressed deep pleasure on the support expressed by its employees. He reminded that the collaborative environment witnessed today is the result of investment of huge amount of time and resources by the company and the union. The joint efforts will help to keep its Canadian pulp and paper mills competitive, thereby providing stability to customers, shareholders and communities associated with them.
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The agreement will be applicable to seven mills- Amos, Baie-Comeau, Dolbeau, Gatineau, Kénogami and Saint-Félicien facilities in Quebec, Thunder Bay mill in Ontario in addition to the currently idled Thorold facility in Ontario. These eight operations account for nearly 40% of the company’s total paper and pulp capacity. It will cover a total of approximately 1,100 hourly employees represented by Unifor. The agreement will mainly deal with wages, vacations, benefits, pension plan and job security.
According to sources, 74% of the Unifor members voted in favor of the deal, which includes wage increase of 2% in the first two years and 2.5% in the next two years. It also includes wage adjustments of $0.40 per hour for members working in production. Further, it proposes wage adjustments of $0.75 per hour effective this May and $0.50 per hour effective May 2021 for skilled workers. Furthermore, the deal contains wage progression amendment and improvements to pension plans and insurance benefits.
