Medical coverage, wage, pensions all hiked with new deal: USW
United Steelworkers (USW) members in Labrador City, N.L., ratified a five-year collective agreement with the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) on May 28, ending a nine-week strike.
More than 1,300 members of USW, Locals 5795 and 6731 will return to work over the next several days, following ratification votes in which approximately 80 per cent of members approved new contracts, said the union.
USW, Local 5795 members voted 79 per cent in favour of their agreement, while Local 6731 approved their contract by an 89 per cent majority. The workers at IOC's Labrador West operations had been on strike since March 26, said the USW.
More than 300 members of USW/Syndicat des Métallos, Local 9344, based in Sept-Îles, Que., will vote on a similar contract offer on May 30. Local 9344 members work at IOC's port and railway operations in Quebec, said the union.
The new collective agreements include increases in medical benefit coverage, wages and pensions, as well as other improvements, according to Ron Thomas, president of the 1,300-member USW Local 5795.
“Our members can be proud that we stood together in solidarity for the last nine weeks to achieve a fair collective agreement that our families and our community deserve,” Thomas said.
The collective agreements include an increase in the cap on medical benefits — the first such increase since the 1990s. As well, any union member or dependant who exhausts the cap will still be covered for the duration of the five-year collective agreement, said the USW.
The contracts provide for significant increases in pension benefits under the hybrid pension plan which will further provide for retirement security for members, said the union.
Over the five-year term, wage increases will amount to an average of 2.4 per cent annually, including cost-of-living allowances, said the USW.
The new contracts include improvements to contract language, while the union also fought back management demands for concessions on pensions and the creation of a temporary workforce, said the union.
