Retirement packages to be offered as part of deal: Unifor
Unifor, Bell Canada reached an agreement on May 1 to reverse layoffs of Bell technicians in Toronto.
The union and the employer agreed to a memorandum that guarantees the full recall of all 76 employees who received surplus notice on April 18, to return to work on May 6. The union and the company also agreed to the offer of a limited retirement incentive offer (RIO) to craft and services employees, said the union.
“When faced with these layoffs, Unifor members took collective action to oppose Bell's decision,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor national president. “This is not a perfect solution, but it protects the work of these technicians and ensures stability for their families.”
On April 18, Bell Canada issued layoff notice to 76 technicians across Ontario and Quebec. The union worked to reverse this layoff publicly and privately in successive meetings with the employer, said Unifor.
“Unifor members just want good jobs that they can rely on at Bell Canada. That means that we will continue to fight back against all attempts to eliminate jobs, outsource and erode the quality of unionized work at Bell,” said Renaud Gagné, Unifor Quebec director.
Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy.
