Bargaining Update: Swissport Vancouver

Bargaining Update: Swissport Vancouver

February 2, 2018 at 11:00 AM

Over the last six months, your Unifor Bargaining Committee has been engaged in discussions with the Company to negotiate a new Collective Agreement. Our objective is to present the members of Swissport an agreement that we can unanimously support and vote on. 

At our last meeting which took place on December 8th, 2017, the Employer offered what they said was their “best and final offer”.  After considerable deliberation, the Committee felt the agreement presented by the Company was not in the best interest of its members, and therefore, could not support presenting it to the membership.  

What’s Next?

The next step was to file for conciliation under the Federal Mediation and Conciliation service which we did on Tuesday, January 30th, 2018. The Minister of Labour now has 14 days to appoint a conciliator. Once that happens the clock starts. The conciliation process is 60 days and can only be extended by mutual agreement between the company and the union.  Following conciliation is 21 days of mediation.  These two periods must end before we are in a legal strike or lockout position.   You have to have a strike vote not more than 60 days before the end of the mediation period as a strike vote is only good for 60 days. A 72-hour notice is required to take strike action.

Of course, Job action is not our hope and is only ever taken as a last resort. We have every intention of working in good faith with the Employer in order to get a Collective Agreement that is fair for everyone.

Your Bargaining Committee is committed to keeping you informed on developments as they unfold.
We will provide updates via Unifor 2002 bulletins. These bulletins will be available on the Unifor 2002 website and via e-news. Please ensure you have subscribed to Unifor 2002 e-news at www.unifor2002.org.

In Solidarity,

Your Bargaining Committee members:
Anca Pricop
Tina Gillales
Anita Hung
Luis Melendez
Leslie Dias National Staff Representative
Sandi McManus National Staff Representative
Euila Leonard Unifor Local 2002 President  
 
For more information, please contact Theresa Amicarelli,
Assistant to Local President