The conciliation will resume next week between the union and the employer Rollys-Royce Canada, in a context of lockout and strike at the same time.
Posted yesterday at 3:06 p.m.
The employer, which specializes in aircraft engine maintenance, locked out 530 workers at its Lachine plant on March 15, the same day that union members met to vote on a strike — which they did in a proportion of 94%.
The parties negotiated intensively, again at the end of last week, without reaching an agreement on the renewal of the collective agreement.
The union attached to the Federation of the manufacturing industry, affiliated with the CSN, reports having made a counter-proposal last Sunday. The parties are to meet again in the presence of the conciliator next Wednesday.
The main points in dispute are salaries and the pension plan. In an interview, the president of the union, Frédéric Labelle, specified that the “non-monetary” clauses had been settled.
The pension plan is a so-called two-tier plan, defined benefits for employees with the most seniority—the vast majority of them—and defined contributions for those who have been hired more recently.
“People are willing to pay more to keep the DB (defined benefit) plan,” reports Mr. Labelle, but Rolls-Royce thinks otherwise.
The union members are also demanding increases of 5% per year for five years, but Mr. Labelle says he is “open” to discussing. He concedes that the employees already have “good wages”, but points out that they had made sacrifices during previous negotiations. Employees also say they are willing to pay more for their insurance, he says.
For its part, the management of Rolls-Royce Canada says it is ready to resume conciliation as soon as possible. “We remain open and ready to resume discussions as soon as possible. Our priority is to resolve the outstanding points in order to allow our employees to return to work as soon as an agreement is reached with the union,” she said.
The employer claims to have a good relationship with the union, despite the context of strikes and lockouts. “To date, we have maintained a solid partnership relationship with our unions and are working diligently to reach a mutually beneficial agreement that will allow us to continue this relationship. »