The union representing employees at automobile manufacturing company Stellantis’ assembly plants in Windsor, Ont. and Brampton, Ont. has ratified a three-year collective agreement that includes pension and retiree benefits improvements.
The agreement will add $1 per hour to the current company pension contribution. Employees earning the current maximum wage rate will see the pension contribution converted to nine per cent of their base rate at the end of year three of the agreement. And the company will now cover the retiree Ontario Drug Benefit Plan deductible of $100 and there will be a new cost-of-living adjustment each year of the agreement for all employees.
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Full-time employees will receive raises or lump-sum payments in each year of the agreement to equal $35.82/hour and a COLA increase in 2025, while part-time employees will receive wage increases in each contract year.
Unifor also ratified a three-year agreement for 146 Aramark Canada Ltd. employees working at the University of Toronto’s Mississauga, Ont. campus. The collective agreement provides full-time employees with a voluntary match program for the group registered retirement saving plan. Workers can contribute up to three per cent of their weekly gross earnings towards the plan and the employer will match up to a maximum of three per cent.
In addition, the agreement provides members with increased coverage for eye exams, glasses and a boot allowance. It also includes a 16.5 per cent wage increase over the three years, an extra sick day allowance and commitment to establish additional special payment in the event of a declared public health emergency.
“These [gains] will help bring a little bit more improved quality of life to the workers and their families, which is the goal,” says Brian Smith-Ramirez, national representative at Unifor.
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