After a marathon 20 months of negotiations, workers at Laura’s YIG in Ottawa voted overwhelmingly in favour of a new collective agreement with increases to wages and benefit contributions. Covering more than 70 workers, the contract was ratified on November 15, 2010 and runs from March 29, 2009 to November 2014.
Members of the Local 1000A No Frills Bargaining Committee met on May 25, 2011 to discuss and vote on proposals to take into negotiations, which will kick off June 21, 2011.
The committee is made of Local 1000A members from No Frill and Valu-Mart stores across Ontario, along with Local 1000A staff members. Executive Vice-President Kevin Benn will be chairing the union’s negotiations team.
Loblaw Companies Ltd has announced it will convert 10 Loblaws stores in Ottawa, Kingston and Lindsay to the Great Food banner.
These are the first conversions announced this year since the company unveiled its plan at negotiations last year to convert all Loblaws stores.
In 2008, the union filed a policy grievance in response to Loblaw breaching the terms and conditions of the 2006 collective agreement by hiring employees into Back to Best positions. In the last set of negotiations, the union and company reached a resolution.
What will happen to the Back to Best positions?
All 94 Back to Best Positions are being discontinued in accordance with the resolution of the grievance. The company agreed to provide Back to Best employees 30 days notification within two weeks of ratification (October 6, 2010) that their positions will be discontinued.
The company is posting 23 regular full-time positions and 71 Compressed Work Week positions, to which the 94 Back to Best employees are invited to apply.
