2011

The Quebec Budget and Pensions: A Disappointment

The Quebec Provincial Budget for 2011/2012 includes a section entitled “A Stronger Retirement Income System – Meeting the Expectations of Quebecers of Every Generation”. The content of the Liberal Government’s proposals doesn’t live up to the title. Employee and employer contributions to the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) will be increased over a 6 year period to a rate of 10.8% of covered earnings (5.4% from each side, compared to the

Les Machinistes intentent une poursuite contre Air Canada! Le syndicat prétend que la société a enfreint la Loi sur la participation publique au capital d’Air Canada

Toronto, ON – L’Association internationale des machinistes et des travailleurs et travailleuses de l’aérospatiale et son vice-président général canadien, Dave Ritchie, ont aujourd’hui introduit une requête contre Air Canada devant la Cour supérieure de justice de l’Ontario. Dans sa requête, le syndicat allègue qu’Air Canada a enfreint la Loi sur la participation publique au capital d’Air Canada en ne maintenant pas ses centres opérationnels et ses centres de révision générale

Machinists Take Air Canada to Court! Union says company breached Air Canada Public Participation Act

Toronto, ON – The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and its Canadian General Vice President Dave Ritchie today, filed an application in the Ontario Superior Court against Air Canada. The suit charges that Air Canada has breached the Air Canada Public Participation Act by not maintaining operational and aircraft overhaul centres in Winnipeg, Montréal and Mississauga. The application also contends that pursuant to the Canadian Business Corporations Act,

Machinists Ratify Deal with Plastic Decorators!

Montréal, QC – Members of IAMAW Local Lodge 1660 have ratified a new collective agreement with Plastic Decorators Incorporated by a margin of 90 per cent. The three-year agreement provides for wage increases of 1.5 per cent in the first year retroactive to September 23, 2010, 3.5 per cent in the second year and 2.5 per cent in the third year. Other agreement highlights include : • Addition of two sick

The Real Story On Air Canada CCAA and What Took Place!

In light of Air Canada’s recent press release about the CCAA plan and the Air Canada Public Participation Act (ACPPA), the IAMAW thought it might be helpful to inform the membership about some of the features of the CCAA process and plan.  Here are some details: The Plan included “a new corporate structure”, which is described in the related Circular as follows: “The new business plan contemplates a new corporate structure

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and International Women’s Day: 100 years on

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and International Women’s Day: 100 years onThe first International Women’s Day commemorated a demonstration by women workers in New York in 1857. But what established the modern celebration of International Women’s Day in history, was the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York on 25 March 1911 that killed 146 young women workers, most of whom were immigrants. From the ashes of that tragic

Fairness?  You Decide.

Back in the 1980s, Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney said it was all about “jobs, jobs, jobs”.  If we just provide the right kind of “climate” for business, they’d crank out so many good jobs that Canadian workers will be able to pick their job and name their price. So first we got the free trade deal with the U.S., then NAFTA, then tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy

International Women's Day 2011: A Call for Dignity in Retirement for Women

Women work hard. And at the end of a lifetime of hard work – paid and unpaid – women deserve to retire in dignity and security. Yet this is not the reality for many Canadian women. Women still earn less than men, and are expected to shoulder unpaid responsibilities at home. Many experience interruptions in their career because of childbearing and caregiving. Many women work in non-standard, poorly-paid jobs, which