In a ratification meeting held Dec. 11, members of Unifor local 510 have voted 85 per cent in favour of tentative agreement.
“This is not a typical contract for us in terms of its duration, but it is important to see it in the context that over 900 members will qualify to take advantage of the special early-retirement program over five years and that 90 per cent of these high-quality jobs will be replaced,” said Eric Titley, Unifor’s national representative for members at Pratt & Whitney.
“We should also point out the investments of approximately $10 million to be made in the company over the coming years,” said Renaud Gagné, Unifor’s Quebec director.
The five-year agreement includes several highlights for the pension plan, early retirement windows, wage increases, the savings plan, benefits, vacation, and other improvements, said the union.
Pension plan upgrades include a benefit increase and four early retirement windows in years one, two, four and five of the agreement.
As well, the agreement includes:
- wage increases of two per cent, two per cent, 2.5 per cent, 2.5 per cent and 2.5 per cent
- savings plan improvement
- third week of vacation as of the third year of seniority (starting in 2017)
- and increase in the paid education leave contribution
The parties had been engaged in intensive negotiations for the past two weeks. The current collective agreement expires in Feb. 2017, according to the union.
Pratt & Whitney employs nearly 2,200 Unifor members, mainly at its plant in Longueuil, Que.
