Food retail members at Metro Plus achieve higher wages – UFCW 500

Lac-Mégantic, Qué. – January 28, 2019 – UFCW Canada Local 500 members working at the Metro Plus grocery store in Lac-Mégantic, Québec have ratified a new six-year contract that provides wage increases, more bereavement leave, and better vacation pay.

Under the new collective agreement, the food retail members will receive a 15 percent premium reduction for joining the UFCW Group Insurance Plan. As well, workers at the low end of the wage scale will enjoy a new minimum wage clause that ensures their wages remain above the legal minimum. Employees at high end of the scale, meanwhile, will receive a 2 percent wage increase for every 650 hours worked, up to the maximum rate. The minimum rate for all employees – except for assistant cashiers – will rise 2.5 percent in each year of the agreement.  

Additional improvements include:

• More bereavement leave;
• A raise in the supervisor’s bonus to $0.75 per hour;
• An increase in personal leave to 56 hours for regular workers; and
• An extra 1 percent vacation pay for members with 20 years of seniority or more

“We are very happy this contract, and we are also pleased that bargaining concluded so quickly,” says Antonio Filato, President of UFCW Canada Local 500. “With this new collective agreement, the food retail members at Metro Plus have improved their working conditions while obtaining new benefits and raises,” he adds.