The Unifor union announced on Sunday that it has reached a tentative agreement with Resolute Forest Products for the forest industry’s new model collective agreement.
Posted at 1:18 p.m.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The proposal will be submitted for approval by Resolute workers within the next week. The result will be known on May 20.
“In the current context with the shortage of labor and galloping inflation, we had to ensure competitive and attractive working conditions, that was our main challenge,” said Renaud Gagné, Quebec director of Unifor, by way of of press release. We are confident that we have reached the best possible agreement under the circumstances. »
The news was confirmed via. The latter specified that the framework agreement affected seven of Resolute’s pulp and paper mills in Canada, including the facilities in Dolbeau, Kénogami, Saint-Félicien, Gatineau, Amos and Baie-Comeau.
“We are pleased to have reached a tentative agreement with local and national Unifor leaders representing our employees,” said Rémi G. Lalonde, President and CEO of Resolute. We believe that this agreement clearly reflects the value that Resolute places on their contribution to the success of the Company, as well as the spirit of collaboration that characterizes the relationship between the two parties. »
Model contract
Unifor says the paper industry’s model contract is to negotiate monetary items like wages, benefits and pensions at a common table. Once the model has been negotiated, it serves as the basis for negotiation with all other employers in the forest industry.
In March, Unifor appointed Resolute Forest Products to negotiate the model contract of employment that will be used for talks in the paper industry in Eastern Canada, involving some 15,000 members.
Resolute had been chosen because the company has several sectors of activity, such as pulp, newsprint, super calendered paper, explained Mr. Gagné at the time. Also, the rule is that the designated company must be present in at least two provinces.
Traditionally, the contract that is negotiated with the target company then serves as a model for negotiating in other industries in this sector in Quebec, Ontario and the Atlantic provinces.