MRP (Mobile Repair Party) process

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The Bargaining Committee has an update for members on the negotiation process as it relates to MRP.

As you know, Mobile Repair Party involves workers travelling to a site anywhere in the world to perform work on IMP customer equipment.

Historically our MRP process has been a voluntary one and although there is language in the agreement which the company believes allows them to force members out of plant, it has never been used or relied on by the company in that manner.

Unfortunately, this has all changed under the current company leadership team. They have put us on notice at the bargaining table that they do intend to force our members out of plant to anywhere in the world to satisfy their customer’s needs. The example they provided was the recent experience in Pakistan.

The company advised us that this was all because one person didn’t want to leave the Halifax plant for work and the current VP of Production wanted them to go. After speaking with the union, the matter was resolved and the member did go, but for some reason the company is now adamant they will not move off their position. After we gave them our counter-proposal they walked away from the bargaining table.

In other IMP facilities such as Cascade, the company pays a $5 per hour premium for those who volunteer and work on an MRP and they also pay a minimum of 48 hours per week for each week a member is away on MRP. Workers at IMP in Halifax are given no incentive to participate in MRP and this results in effectively penalizing the workers due to extended hours away from home and the additional costs associated with it.

We explained that the company would not likely ever have to force any of our members if they provided the same MRP compensation structure that is in place at Cascade. 

We had asked our members to remove their names from the MRP list as we are not at all supportive of this aggressive approach taken by the company. The company charges very large premiums to their customers, as do any contractors when they send us around the world. It is unnecessarily cheap for the company to force us away from our families without any financial consideration. This matter has a very easy solution if the company were prepared to treat us respectfully.

If members do not wish to have a collective agreement that forces them out of plant based on the company’s requirements, then please consider taking your names off the MRP list. The company should experience the reality of forcing people out of plant and the horrible impact this will have on the already poor morale the company has created in the workplace. This corporate bullying is unacceptable. 

If the company doesn’t wish to work with us on a solution then they deserve a future where everyone is forced and nobody volunteers. Our bargaining committees have worked successfully for many rounds of successful negotiations but there is a very different tone to the company’s approach which will not lead us to a collective agreement if it continues.

At the end of the day the union is as strong as its membership.

Thank you,

Unifor Bargaining Committee