Tuesday June 6, 2017
For Immediate Release
Vancouver, BC – With strike action only a week away, members of IAM Local Lodge 16, employed as warehouse workers for Swissport, ratified their first collective agreement.
“To say our members are ecstatic would be an understatement, “explained IAM Transportation District Lodge 140 Chairperson Todd Haverstock. “The wages that the employer was paying their current staff was not consistent with seniority, and experience. The wages were all over the map and now there is a wage scale based on years of service which is acceptable to the group. The majority of this group had been under paid for many years so when they were told that the average wage increase was $3.17 an hour, they were overjoyed.”
The two-year agreement provides wage increases ranging from $2.00 to $4.94 per hour depending upon classification and years of service. The members also received a signing bonus ranging from $750.00 to $2,000, depending on seniority. Other agreement highlights include:
- Increased sick time benefits
- Matching RRSP of $100 per month
- Introduction of two new classifications – Lead and Senior Lead
- Lead premium of $3.00 per hour and Senior Lead premium of $4.00 per hour
“When you tell a worker who makes just under $12.00 an hour that this agreement will give them a $4.94 an hour raise with a chance to earn another $4.00 an hour in premiums if they qualify, it’s not hard to understand why they ratified,” said Haverstock.
The 17 members prepare air cargo for loading into aircraft at Vancouver International Airport.
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For further information:
Todd Haverstock – IAM Transportation District Lodge 140 General Chairperson
604-448-0721/604-518-0029
Bill Trbovich – IAM Director of Communications
416-386-1789 Ext #6331/416-735-9765
