The United Food and Commercial Workers union has just reached an agreement that will allow it to represent thousands of Uber Canada drivers, particularly in Quebec, without going so far as to unionize them.
The services offered by the UFCW union — a large pan-Canadian union which, in Quebec, is affiliated with the FTQ — will be offered on a voluntary basis. There will be no automatic membership like a union. A driver or delivery person may choose not to use UFCW to represent him.
For example, the UFCW union will offer those who want it services during a dispute with Uber Canada, which may go as far as arbitration if there is no agreement between the parties, as well as representation for questions of health and safety at work, explained in an interview Thursday Anouk Collet senior adviser to the national president of the UFCW.
The complexity of this file comes from the status of Uber drivers. The Labor Code specifies that employees can join a union. The situation is more complex for self-employed workers or those who have a status in between.
Their file is reminiscent of that of taxi drivers, to whom the Steelworkers union, also affiliated with the FTQ, offered several services as well as representation.
The agreement between Uber Canada and the UFCW includes a second component, which provides for making representations to governments so that the working conditions of these drivers are improved, underlined Ms. Collet, who is also vice-president of the FTQ. .
“This is an agreement that is unique in its kind. We are often told: unions, maybe you should change your traditional methods and find other means and methods. Well, that’s what we tried to do. And we think it’s a step forward, ”launched Ms. Collet.
The UFCW union has often stood up for low-wage, underrepresented workers, such as agricultural workers, temporary foreign workers. It is very present in slaughterhouses, food processing, supermarkets, among others.