Campaign Update
7/22/2021 –TORONTO – Unifor reached a tentative deal with Bell Craft after an eight-month bargaining process involving local unions spread across Quebec and Ontario.
“I give the members and the bargaining committee my congratulations for leading the path on this critical round of telecommunications negotiations, and for securing a deal,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “This past year, people across Canada realized the importance of our telecommunications sector, and the workers who make it run. The strength of our telecom industry is thanks to passionate, skilled, and unionized workers like Unifor’s members in Bell Craft units.”
7/16/2021 -Sisters and Brothers,
As you know, bargaining broke off in early June. Earlier this week, the Company submitted a new counter proposal, which your committee has since responded to. We will now resume holding talks with the company via Zoom from Peterborough beginning Tuesday, July 20th, to address the differences in our positions.
Concurrent to the bargaining process, the Maintenance of Activities dispute now has mediation dates provided on August 17th, 18th, and 23rd to start. There must be an agreement on this dispute, before a strike or lockout can occur, as per the Canada Labour Code section 87.4.
To be clear, the ongoing Maintenance of Activities dispute does not mean the Committee and the Company cannot continue to bargain while this issue is outstanding. However, the committee will continue to pursue a resolution at the Labour Board on this matter if bargaining talks do not progress.
While these two processes may take several months, we remind members to continue to save money when possible, to ensure some financial stability, if there is in fact a future work stoppage. This may only occur, if no agreement is reached at the bargaining table, but the parties come to a resolution on Maintenance of Activities.
As always, we appreciate your support and recognize the length of the process is difficult, but it is also necessary. The bargaining committee is committed to our members priorities and will continue to fight for fairness on behalf of the Bell Craft membership, at the bargaining table, in front of the Labour Board, and on the picket line if necessary.
In Solidarity,
Your Bargaining Committee