University of Windsor | B.C. Midwives | Thunder Bay Bombardier strike | Rogers’ layoffs | CP Rail safety | #BoycottIKEA | Guelph transit lockout | Save Canada Post | Contracting out
IKEA rapped for unfair labour practices in year-long lockout
CBC
Jul 25, 2014
The union representing locked-out workers at IKEA’s flagship store in Richmond, B.C., says the provincial labour board has found the Swedish retail giant committed unfair labour practices. In a posting on its website Friday, Teamsters Local 213 says the board found IKEA bargained in bad faith and violated provincial labour law by trying to bargain directly with workers through a website posting. The board ordered the company to remove the website posting and stop paying monetary incentives for employees to cross picket lines. Union spokeswoman Anita Dawson says the company makes billions of dollars a year but refuses to negotiate an end to the lengthy dispute.
Montreal workers dress down to protest pension bill
CBC
July 25, 2014
On Friday, Montreal bus drivers were spotted wearing everything from straw hats to beach shorts. The pressure tactics are the latest technique being used by workers to protest Bill 3 — which proposes to alter municipal pension plans.
City of Guelph ready to consider ‘reasonable’ counter-offer from transit union
Alex Migdal, Guelph Mercury
July 25, 2014
With negotiations stalled and no resolution in sight, day five of Guelph’s transit lockout prompted city officials to issue a statement indicating they’ll consider a counter-offer from the transit union.In a written statement, Mayor Karen Farbridge urged the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1189 to clarify its needs after it overwhelmingly rejected Sunday a tentative agreement reached with the city in an 11th-hour deal.
Mailbox sites anger residents
Jessica Botelho-Urbanski, Winnipeg Free Press
July 25, 2014
Rolling out new community mailboxes in Winnipeg’s older neighbourhoods has caused some serious cases of Nimbyism — not to mention Nimfyism (not in my front yard) and Nimsyism (not in my side yard).
In what could be one of the last envelopes delivered directly to your doorsteps, Canada Post has begun mailing letters confirming the locations of the new community mailboxes that will be installed this fall.
BC Midwives Take Aim at Christy Clark
Ben Gumienny, Kelowna Now
July 24, 2014
BC’s midwives are calling out Premier Christy Clark and the Ministry of Health. The Midwives Association of BC (MABC) announced on Wednesday that they have issued a 90-day notice to the BC government on July 7th that they will terminate their Master Agreement with province on Oct 7 2014. “With the strong support of our membership we have advised the Ministry of Health that if we cannot reach a sensible agreement by October 7th, BC’s registered midwives are prepared to take further job action, which could potentially include limiting the intake of new patients,” said Ganga Jolicoeur, Executive Director of MABC.
Peterborough to contract out public works: Union
Jessica Nyznik,The Peterborough Examiner
July 27, 2014
The union representing the city’s public works employees, Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 504, plans to fight the city’s proposal to contract out winter duties. A report from the city’s utility services director is going to city council Monday asking councillors to contract out a major portion of the city’s winter control work, including snow removal and salt and sanding. After receiving official notice Friday morning, members of the local held a meeting in their office on Sherbrooke St. to plan a strategy to stop the plan. “We want councillors to put this back to management so they can work with Local 504 on keeping this work accountable and financially reasonable,” said Local 504 recording secretary Mike Maddock. Maddock said the report recommends that the city increase the budget for winter services by $665,000 to fund the proposed private contracts by 2016.
University of Windsor to impose conditions rejected by employees
Rick Dawes, The Windsor Star
July 23, 2014
The University of Windsor has threatened to impose the conditions of a contract rejected by faculty members last week, says the union. The Windsor University Faculty Association said in a letter to its members Tuesday that the university had “effectively left the bargaining table” at 4 p.m. Last week WUFA rejected the university’s latest offer and responded with its own counter offer which the university rejected. On Tuesday, according to the letter obtained by The Star, the university informed the union it would unilaterally impose the terms of their July 15 offer this Monday. “This is an extraordinary step on the part of Administration,” the letter stated. “In essence this means our employer is no longer will to negotiate a collective agreement, but will impose its own terms and conditions.”
Bombardier pension plan won’t change for current workers
CBC
July 22, 2014
Bombardier Transportation in Thunder Bay says information circulating about proposed changes to its employees’ pension plan is misleading. More than 900 Unifor workers have been on strike for more than a week and pensions are a central issue. “We have to be clear here that under the current contract proposal, employees who are now on strike, who are current employees today, will have absolutely no changes or impact to their existing pension plan,” said company spokesperson Stephanie Ash. Ash said the company wants to move to a new retirement savings plan for workers hired after May 31 of this year.
Union sees CP Rail training program as safety problem
Alison Bailey, News 1130
July 22, 2014
Are trains in Canada being run safely? That’s a question being raised by the union that represents locomotive engineers and conductors at CP Rail. Union Vice-President Douglas Finnson says non-unionized managers, some whom do office jobs, are being trained to work as replacement locomotive engineers and conductors. Finnson tells us CP seems to mostly be using civil engineers and foremen — the people who fix the tracks. But he says managers being trained under the program also include some from head office, safety and environmental affairs, and customer service.
Scotiabank settles lawsuit with 15,000 employees over unpaid overtime claims
Drew Hasselback, National Post
July 24, 2014
The Bank of Nova Scotia has reached a proposed settlement in a massive class action that had alleged the bank denied overtime to as many as 15,000 current and former retail branch employees. The settlement, which is subject to court approval, brings an end to a seven-year legal saga that has caught the attention of many of Canada’s largest financial institutions and corporations. The Scotiabank case is one of several overtime class actions to have hit corporate Canada in recent years.
Rogers Lays Off ‘Several Hundred’ As Part Of Restructuring
Huffington Post
July 21, 2014
With Rogers Communications Inc. confirming that it has eliminated “several hundred middle management positions” as part of its Rogers 3.0 corporate revitalization plan, analysts say the Toronto-based company’s new CEO Guy Laurence is taking necessary steps to shake up the company after a period of stagnation.