Unifor announces that the lockout and the strike that had lasted for three weeks at DHL Express Canada end after the workers ratified a new agreement.
Unifor indicates that the four -year agreement concluded with the delivery company was ratified with the support of 72% of the members.
This agreement concerns more than 2,100 DHL Express Canada employees who work as truck drivers, couriers, storekeepers and office employees.
“I am very proud of all the members of the National Negotiation Committee who showed determination and fought to obtain the respect they deserved,” Lana Payne, National President of Unifor, said in a press release announcing the results of the ratification vote.
DHL Express said in a statement that it has restored all its services in Canada and that all its activities would be restored from June 30.
“We are delighted to resume our activities and again welcome all the members of our team. Together, we will focus as a priority to provide the highest quality service to our customers, ”said the company’s press release.
The workers were put in lockout after midnight on June 8 and went on strike a few hours later. The company and the union, which has been negotiating for almost a year, clashed with regard to the use of replacement workers, while a federal law prohibiting this practice came into force during the work stoppage.
The German messaging service, which is among its 50,000 customers in Canada Lululemon, Shein and Siemens, continued its activities during the first twelve days of the work stoppage, then stopped its activities early in the morning of June 20, the same day of the entry into force of the law.
The company justified this closure by the banging of negotiations as well as by the revision of the rules, which prohibit new employees to replace employees under federal regulations who are on strike or on a lockout.
Ms. Payne had accused the company of having called on replacement workers, an accusation that DHL had not denied. She declared that this measure was legal at the time, but that it infringed wage equity.
“This is a historical conflict in the history of our union, because we have served as a test for new anti-strike legislation. Our union and our members showed courage and determination, and we finally obtained a fair collective agreement, “said Payne in a press release published on Saturday.
Unifor has indicated that the ratified contract provides for a salary increase of 15.75 %, an increase in pensions for hourly workers and a new pension for tugging valers.
He underlined that the agreement also provides for an increase in short and long -term disability benefits, new mental health services, an increase in dismissal allowances and an update of the wording concerning artificial intelligence, robotics and home labor policies.
The union said that DHL employees would resume work after ratification, but has given no specific calendar. He thanked the public for his patience while the employees make up for the delay accumulated in the treatment of packages and deliveries.
