Members of Unifor Local 594 have ratified a tentative agreement with Federated Co-Op to end the nearly seven-month lockout at the Co-Op refinery with 89 percent of those eligible to vote saying yes to the offer.
A release from Federated Co-Op says the new contract is a seven-year deal that will ensure labour stability at the refinery and that the over 700 employees affected will return to work over the coming weeks in accordance with the new contract’s Return-to-Work agreement.
The release adds the deal strikes a much-needed balance between the company’s appreciation for our unionized employees and the fiscal realities of the refining sector. This deal, combined with the operational efficiencies CRC has recently realized, will go a long way in ensuring a sustainable future for the company.
We are pleased that our bargaining unit employees have voted to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement. Please see our statement below for details. pic.twitter.com/ykTBCrScNN
— Co-op Refinery (@CoopRefinery) June 22, 2020
1/2 Highlights of our new CBA: An 11.75% raise over 4 yrs. Employees now pay 50% share of servicing cost into their DB pension or may switch to our DC pension. Employees retain a matched savings plan, reduced from 6.5% to 4% or participate in performance plan.
— Co-op Refinery (@CoopRefinery) June 23, 2020
“Our members and their bargaining committee held firm throughout a difficult, protracted and often bitter negotiation process,” Unifor National President Jerry Dias said in a release. “In the end we were successful in protecting their retirement security and in achieving the national wage pattern but this result could have been reached far earlier if the mediator recommendations had been enforced by Premier Scott Moe.”
