February 19, 2010
Volume 40, No. 7
Strong Arbitration Award for Pharma Plus Workers in Ottawa
A recent arbitration award on the issue of wage progressions for 400 CAW members at Pharma Plus stores in Ottawa is a strong victory for workers.
The award means workers will now reach their top wage rate after 36 months of work. It overturns a company interpretation of the 2008 collective agreement that trapped workers in a system that often meant they had to work a lot more than 36 months to reach the top rate. The company attempted to rollback many newer employees months of service on the wage grid.
"This is an important win for workers at these stores. It restores a fair system of pay based on how much experience workers have," said CAW eastern Ontario area director Harry Ghadban. "The award ensures the wage grid negotiated during our last round of collective bargaining will be properly applied."
The company is now required to go back and assess the rate of pay for each employee and ensure they are fully compensated based on the existing wage grid and to also provide any back pay owing.
CAW Local 414 represents 400 workers at 21 Pharma Plus drug stores in Ottawa, Ontario including cashiers, clerks, pharmacy technicians, postal clerks.
RSI Awareness Day: February 28 Because Work Shouldn't Hurt
CAW members and other workers across the country continue to suffer from the debilitating effects of Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSIs) or Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs).
RSIs and MSDs are an invisible epidemic. Approximately 2.3 million Canadians have experienced an RSI serious enough to limit their normal activities, according to a new Statistics Canada study. This marks a significant increase in RSI incidence over the five-year period between 1996 and 2001. According to the survey, the majority of these injuries are caused by work-related activity. The only way to prevent these injuries is to know the risks.
The 11th International Repetitive Strain Injury Awareness Day is February 28. This is a day to build awareness and to continue emphasizing the need for ergonomic regulations, justice and dignity for injured workers and respectful accommodation.
CAW President Ken Lewenza is urging CAW locals to raise RSI awareness, by reproducing the Health and Safety Fact Sheets on shoulders, backs, wrists, arms and standing, found on the Health and Safety section of the CAW National website at: http://www.caw.ca/en/4655.htm
Also available on the CAW website is an RSI Day poster and leaflet. CAW locals are urged to take part in area activities through local labour councils and community organizations on February 28.
Norfolk Hospital Agreement Overwhelmingly Ratified
CAW Local 302 members who work at the Norfolk Hospital in Simcoe, Ontario have voted 92 per cent in favour of a new three-year agreement that ensures they reach pattern with other southern Ontario hospitals.
The new agreement provides wage increases, improved benefits, increases in shift premiums and gains in vacation. Wage increases are two per cent in each year of the contract.
In addition, Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs) receive a bump up to ensure they reach pattern. There are also benefit gains such as chiropractic and physio-therapy coverage for the first time, as well as improvements in bereavement coverage and other benefits.
"The solidarity of the membership helped the bargaining committee achieve a strong agreement which in turn ensures our members will reach the pattern with other southern Ontario hospitals," said CAW national representative Julie Herron.
Unit chairperson Terry Myers said the contract talks were tough, but as bargaining continued the unit became more united and focused on achieving the best agreement in difficult economic times. "This was the highest ratification result we've ever had," Myers said.
CAW Local 302 represents 234 workers at the Norfolk Hospital including RPNs, personal support workers, cooks, servers and hospital service workers.
Brampton Pension Forum
| More than 200 people crowded into the pension forum in Brampton, Ontario on February 4, 2010. The forum was part of a series of events being held across the country, co-ordinated by the Canadian Labour Congress and affiliates, including the CAW. For more information or to find or organize a forum in your area, please visit: http://www.caw.ca/en/7978.htm |
Severance Must Be Priority, CAW Urges Labour Minister
CAW President Ken Lewenza met February 11 with newly-appointed Federal Minister of Labour Lisa Raitt to discuss the federal government's role in protecting workers' severance pay.
Lewenza asked the minister to put the issue on the agenda of her upcoming meeting with provincial/ territorial ministers of labour on February 20 and 21. The union has had similar discussions with Ontario Minister of Labour Peter Fonseca.
"It makes no sense at all, that workers should face double, even triple jeopardy when they lose their jobs," Lewenza said. "Instead, we need to ensure that employers actually pay severance and that bankruptcy laws give priority to the severance owing to workers. Furthermore, our laws should require that severance pay is left in the hands of the worker, not clawed back by EI or taxes," he said.
The CAW delegation, which met with the Minister in Toronto, included Gerry Farnham, President of CAW Local 195 which was forced to blockade Windsor-area auto parts plants to secure a partial payment of millions owing in severance pay.
The union asked that the federal government put an end to EI rules that require workers to use up their severance pay before they start receiving EI benefits, along with other EI improvements.
The union also proposed that the federal Wage Earner Protection Program maximum of $3,323 per employee be raised and cover a broader range of insolvency situations, and further that outdated federal tax rules be amended as to the amount of severance pay a worker can transfer tax free to an RRSP.
UNICEF and CAW Raise Thousands for Haiti Relief in Toronto
On January 22, the City of Toronto, UNICEF Canada and the CAW-lead Handkerchief Project collaborated on a one-day public awareness event at Union Station in Toronto showcasing the on-the-ground emergency relief work being done in Haiti, and other countries stricken by natural disasters.
Throughout the day, commuters travelling through Union Station had the opportunity to chat with UNICEF volunteers like Helen Hermenier (pictured here) at an information booth set up in the main lobby. Passers-by were also encouraged to donate to UNICEF's Haiti disaster relief efforts.
UNICEF Canada raised over $3,000 for Haiti Relief in Toronto.
