Members at Saladexpress achieve new contract – UFCW 503

Quebec City – August 11, 2014 – Local 503 members have achieved a new collective agreement at Saladexpress – a food production facility that specializes in the processing of pre-cut vegetables for salads and soups. The new contract runs until October 2016 and is retroactive to October 2013.

Saladexpress employees, who have been members of the union since 1987, have had several collective agreements over time and, once again, they have shown that collective bargaining continues to bear fruit in workers’ interest. The new collective agreement provides for the following specific improvements:  

• The contribution to Fonds de solidarité FTQ (‘‘Quebec federation of labour’s solidarity fund’’) increases from $5.00 to $20.00 a week;
• The refunding for dental care costs remains at 80%;
• Under a letter of agreement, there shall be a summer schedule and a team working from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.;
• Retroactively to 9 October 2013, wages shall increase by 2.25% every year;
• The evening shift premium increases from $0.40 to $0.70;
• The premium paid to employees who stand in for a forewoman or a foreman increases from $1.00 to $2.00 per hour;
• All employees shall receive a Christmas bonus, namely $150.00 for regular employees and $100.00 for part-time employees, partly in the form of a gift card and partly in that of a reduced work week;
• Overtime shall now be paid at time and a half after eight consecutive hours worked instead of eight and a half consecutive hours worked;
• Union leaves shall be paid by the employer for up to a maximum of thirty (30) days a year in the following cases: bargaining committee matters, executive board meetings and union activities.

‘‘I wish to congratulate all members of our union who were involved in the negotiating of this new three-year collective agreement. This will help secure stability and improvements for workers in the Quebec City region," says UFCW Canada Local 503 President Louise Lefebvre.