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June 25, 2018
HALIFAX - Members of Unifor MWF 1 have ratified a new four year collective agreement with Irving Shipbuilding after eight months of bargaining in Halifax.
“These were extremely challenging negotiations and full credit needs to go to Local 1’s bargaining committee who pushed back against unprecedented concessions, empowered by the support of the members who gave them an overwhelming strike mandate. The end result is a new collective agreement that includes a path towards a more respectful workplace,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias.
The new collective agreement will increase wages by 2 per cent in the first year and 1.5 per cent for the next three years over the life of the contract. The more than 800 members in the workplace will also see improvements to their RRSP, vacation, and health care benefits that were secured by the union’s bargaining committee. Dias stated that these negotiations were, however about more than economics; “This was about workplace respect and getting the employer to understand the role of the union.”
“We also negotiated a full time union rep in the yard, improved our contracting out language and have a commitment to resolve all outstanding grievances within 90 days. These contractual improvements will go a long way to fixing the problems at the shipyard,” said David Baker Mosher, President of Unifor Local MWF 1.
Unifor is committed to working with the employer to successfully deliver vessels as part of a multi-billion dollar federal contract awarded to Irving’s Halifax Shipyard in 2011.
A short video clip of Jerry Dias providing context on this round of bargaining is also available for broadcast at this link.
For more information, please contact Unifor Atlantic Communications representative Natalie Clancy: @email or (902) 478-9283 (cell)
