Monday April 25, 2016
For Immediate Release
North Bay, ON – The threat of strike action for IAM Local Lodge 2412 against Atlas Copco has produced a new collective agreement.
“This was the ugliest round of bargaining we have seen with this employer in some time,” explained IAM Grand Lodge Representative Ralph Martin. “They came to the table with nasty concession demands. They wanted a five-year wage freeze, a $4 per hour wage cut for new hires as well as language changes that would have resulted in a drastic reduction or the elimination of double time pay for overtime.”
Martin said the two sides began bargaining in the fall of 2015, filing for conciliation in December. “When we met at the end of March 2016, the employer had reduced their wage freeze demand to only four years,” he said. “A no-board report was filed and a strike deadline of April 18, 2016 was given. When we met again just days before the strike deadline, we were able to get them to back off of their concessions and we settled on a three-year agreement with wage increases of roughly 2 per cent in each year. Our bargaining team held firm and at the end they were rewarded with an 87 per cent acceptance by the membership.”
The 50 members manufacture drill bits, rods and tubes for the mining industry.
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For further information:
Ralph Martin – IAM Grand Lodge Representative
416-225-9003/905-869-6520
Bill Trbovich – IAM Director of Communications
416-386-1789 Ext #6331/416-735-9765
