Retroactive wage gains, sick-leave provisions included in new deal
Unifor members at Bell Craft in Ontario and Quebec have ratified a new four-year collective agreement Feb. 23.
"I'm glad that we were able to bring Bell back to the table to negotiate a fair contract," said Jerry Dias, Unifor national president.
Unifor represents more than 3,800 Bell Craft technicians covered under the agreement that will expire on Nov. 30, 2020.The new contract was reached following months of bargaining, which involved the personal intervention of Dias with senior Bell management, said the union.
The negotiated benefits of the new contract include work jurisdiction language that protects jobs, third-party adjudication for sick-leave disputes and wage gains in each year of the agreement. Wages will improve by 1.75 per cent retroactive to Dec. 1, 2016 and then by 1.75 per cent, two per cent and two per cent in the following years, according to Unifor.
Unifor also negotiated an agreement for Bell to begin contributions to the Unifor Paid Education Leave Program, which supports union-developed and union-delivered courses, said the union.
