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TORONTO, March 16, 2015 /CNW/ - Unifor members have ratified five new agreements with CN Rail, with one still outstanding.
Voting took place at membership meetings over the last two weeks, in 50 locations across Canada. The agreement was reached on Monday, February 23, avoiding a lock-out by CN.
"Year over year, CN is a tremendously profitable company," said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. "In 2014 alone, CN's revenue was $12.1 billion. With this set of negotiations, it was important for us to make gains for our members on every front, recognizing their efforts in CN's success. This is part of the core work of the union."
"These agreements were made possible by the steadfast resolve of all committees to make progress on the issues most important to our members."
The agreement included wage increases in each of the four years, improvements to benefits, stronger job security, better rates for CNTL truck drivers, stronger apprenticeship ratios, the re-establishment of the joint health and safety committee and provisions that will see the in- sourcing of work and new jobs created. Unifor and CN will also partner to create a fund which will focus largely on initiatives related to women's equality and aboriginal issues.
Breakdown by group:
(Council 4000)
CNTL: 81 per cent
5.1 & 5.1 supplemental: 80 per cent
5.4: 100 per cent
CN Savage Alberta Railway (CNSAR): 100 per cent
Highlights of the Unifor-CN agreement can be viewed here:
http://www.unifor.org/sites/default/files/documents/document/unifor-cncouncil4000_2015.pdf (Council 4000)
"We represent a wide range of members at CN and I'm pleased that we were able to move the bar for each group, so that by working together, everyone makes gains," said Unifor Council 4000 President Barry Kennedy. Unifor Council 4000 represents intermodal, clerical, mechanics and owner operators. "All Unifor committees remained united and judging by the high level of acceptance, our members have said job well done."
The ratification process is still underway at Unifor Local 100, representing members who conduct safety inspections on all rail cars and locomotives, as well as maintenance and repairs.
Unifor has six collective agreements with CN Rail, which cover mechanics, clerical workers, excavator operators, locomotive engineers (Savage Rail) and truck drivers. Unifor Local 100 represents skilled trades in mechanical shops. Unifor is the largest union at CN with 4,800 members.
Unifor represents 9,000 railway workers and 305,000 members across the country in every sector of the economy.
SOURCE Unifor
