The 470 striking workers at a Nestlé Canada chocolate bar factory in Toronto are heading back to work as their union reached an agreement with the company on May 20, securing wage, benefits and pension increases for its members. “We’re very happy with the results. The company is investing in the employees, so we see […]
More than 470 employees at a Nestlé Canada plant in Toronto are on strike after Unifor Local 252 and the company failed to reach an agreement on May 1. The main sticking points include making temporary workers permanent — with access to Nestlé’s benefits and defined contribution pension plan — and increasing the employer-sponsored amount […]
The union representing Via Rail Canada Inc. employees has ratified a new agreement that will increase employer contributions for members of the company’s hybrid pension plan. The new two-year contract covers 1,700 employees at Via Rail and removes age and service conditions that determined the employer match percentage for optional contributions made by plan members […]
Amazon workers voted against forming a union at a warehouse in Alabama, handing the online retail giant a decisive victory and cutting off a path labour activists had hoped would lead to similar efforts throughout the company and beyond. After months of aggressive campaigning from both sides, 1,798 warehouse workers ultimately rejected the union, while […]
Organizers in Bessemer, Ala., are pushing for some 6,000 Amazon.com Inc. warehouse employees to unionize on the promise it will lead to better working conditions, better pay and more respect. Vote counting began on March 30 and could take days, or longer, depending on how many votes are received and how much time it takes […]
The Royal Mail Group Ltd. will soon make history in the United Kingdom by becoming the first employer to sponsor an entirely new type of pension plan, called a collective defined contribution scheme. Under the U.K.’s Pension Schemes Act 2021, which received royal assent in February, collective DC pensions will essentially be a hybrid of […]
Arbitrator Dana Randall has ruled that unilaterally-imposed, bi-weekly testing for the novel coronavirus at a Woodstock, Ont., unionized retirement home is reasonable when weighed against the need to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. “The decision tells us that, in this particular environment, mandatory COVID-19 testing is a reasonable exercise of management right given the […]
The union representing General Motors of Canada Co. employees in Ontario has ratified a new agreement for workers at a plant in Ingersoll that removes changes to a legacy defined benefit plan as part of ongoing pension discussions. The deal, based on the recent three-year agreement with GM for workers in Oshawa, St. Catharines and Woodstock, […]
Drivers for app-based, ride-hailing and delivery services filed a lawsuit on January 12 to overturn a California ballot initiative that makes them independent contractors instead of employees eligible for benefits and job protections. The lawsuit filed with the California Supreme Court said Proposition 22 is unconstitutional because it limits the power of the legislature to […]
While occupational health and safety legislation is clear, the definition of PPE has evolved since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Mark Hancock, National president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees The coronavirus pandemic has made the acronym PPE — or personal protective equipment — a house-hold buzzword. At the onset of the pandemic, shortages […]