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The Unifor Brink’s Pre-Bargaining Conference took place April 28 and 29 at the national office in Toronto, where delegates from Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec discussed proposals from the locals to prepare for negotiations with the armoured car company later this year.
Unifor National President Lana Payne told members with the world rapidly changing, the uncertainty stemming from the ongoing U.S. trade war makes things tougher for workers. But the glue that will keep worker power strong is solidarity and investing in a Made-in-Canada industrial fightback.
“This has been a time to show that not only can we do the important work of bargaining collective agreements, but that we can also put forward bold ideas that help our country respond to the challenges we face,” said Payne.
“Our union has played an incredible role through the most challenging crisis in our country in a long time. We’re going to keep doing that because we have a lot of members that are counting on us. The more we can do to make sure we have security when it comes to our jobs and our sectors, the better it’s going to be for you, too, because we are all connected in this economy.”
“This is an opportunity for our bargaining committee members to get together and discuss the issues that matter the most to our Brink’s Canada members,” said Unifor Road Transportation Director David Cayer. “It charts the course ahead on the best strategies to fight for a fair contract.”
Lana Payne also spoke about how, particularly in the transportation sector, technology and Artificial Intelligence are having huge impacts on workers.
“We can develop strategies to make sure we’re getting the right information from our employers of what they’re doing and how they’re using AI and creating our own structures within the union to track and make sure members are being consulted ahead of time,” said Payne. “This whole surveillance issue is something many of our members are facing. We know it’s used against us in many ways. It does interfere with our ability to do our job freely.”
There are 12 locals in Ontario and British Columbia that will be bargaining with Brink’s Canada Ltd., in the summer.
The conference opened on the National Day of Mourning, to honour workers who have lost their lives, been injured, or become ill due to workplace incidents. In a moving tribute, Cayer spoke proudly and fondly about Unifor Transport Director Scott Bateman, who passed away in January.
“We lost a friend and ally,” said Cayer.
“He was a true leader. He fought for everybody. He worked hard for Brink’s. We talked almost daily on ongoing issues with our units for working conditions and safety. Scott had a plan for this conference, so that’s what we’re sticking to, so this is Scott’s conference.”
The group also heard presentations about pension and benefits, the CAAT pension plan and an industry overview by Unifor’s Research department.
