Increased scheduling changes, better vacation rules part of deal: UFCW
United Food and Commercial Workers Canada (UFCW), Local 500 members working at Longue Pointe Chrysler in Saint-Léonard, Que., ratified their first collective agreement on May 7.
As part of the new contract, the 12 office workers are now members of the UFCW Quebec Dental Plan and the employer will reimburse 80 per cent of eligible dental costs, said the union.
With respect to wages, the new agreement provides annual increases of 1.25 to two per cent depending on job classification and seniority, as well as a retroactive increase that means wages will rise by a total of 3.25 to 7.96 per cent over the term of the contract, according to UFCW.
Other highlights of the agreement include work schedules will range between 24 to 40 hours per week — depending on the department — workers can now exchange shifts within a department, employees can take a fifth week of vacation at 10 per cent of the reference year earnings after 20 years of service and this percentage rises to 11 per cent after 25 years of service, said the union.
Workers will receive vacation pay equal to what they would have received during the reference year if they were not on leave for maternity, disability, or illness and employees will have 48 and 40 more hours of personal leave, according to UFCW.
