Bell Aliant workers reach new contract

Employees of Bell Aliant across the Atlantic provinces have voted to ratify a new collective agreement with 74 per cent of members voting in favour.

The agreement with Bell Aliant will take effect on Jan. 1, 2015, and will cover the employees once they become employees of Bell Canada Enterprises, Inc. (BCE).

“We have solid and established relationships with the management at Bell Aliant and both sides were eager to provide stability for unionized employees during the upcoming transition,” said Rick Rose, national representative at Unifor.

“We’re proud that we were able to negotiate a few items that our workplaces have never had before, like paid education leave, which will be a useful benefit for our members across the region,” added Bobby MacDonald, chairperson of the Unifor Atlantic Communications Locals.

Highlights of the agreement include wage increases of two per cent in each of the three years of the agreement;an immediate $1,000 signing bonus; and changes to vacation scheduling and allotment to provide greater access to vacation in prime times.

A limited retirement offer will be available for up to 450 members that will provide generous incentives in each year of the agreement with a negotiated replacement rate of 60 per cent of those who retire.

The new agreement covers 1,100 Unifor members including nearly 200 in P.E.I.