A new four-year agreement between Catalyst Paper Corporation and Unifor Locals 1 and 76 in Powell River has been approved by workers, according to Unifor national representative Jim Dixon.
In all, the company’s 630 employees with Unifor and the Public and Private Workers of Canada - Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada at Catalyst mills in Crofton, Port Alberni and Powell River ratified six new collective agreements.
They extend to April 30, 2021, and are retroactive to May 1, 2017.
The deal includes wage increases and improvements to some benefits, according to a statement from Catalyst on July 3.
“We’re pleased to have reached this agreement with our Unifor and PPWC member employees,” stated Catalyst president and CEO Ned Dwyer. “I want to thank our employees and the Unifor and PPWC representatives for their commitment to achieving this outcome.”
A union source at the mill in Powell River said Local 1 voted 91 per cent and Local 76 voted 74 per cent in favour of the contract.
The Local 76 agreement includes a two per cent wage increase in the first year, one per cent the second year and then one per cent every six months afterward, according to the source.
Two per cent is in keeping with the 2018 inflation rate in Canada, which is approximately two per cent.
The union source said Local 76 workers receive nothing back from what they gave in concessions in 2012 when Unifor agreed to wage rollbacks and a 1.5 per cent loss in holiday pay.
Under the new arrangement, holiday pay will return to 2012 levels at the end of this contract in 2021 but the graduated training wage for new hires at the mill will be eliminated that same year.
In 2012, when Catalyst was undergoing creditor protection, recapitalization and restructuring, union employees agreed to a 10 per cent reduction in hourly rates along with various adjustments to vacation, health benefits and work rules.
Unifor Local 76 represents operators and tradesmen employed by Catalyst’s Powell River Division.
No details on the Local 1 contract were available.
