Saint-Hyacinthe and Drummondville, Que. – September 9, 2019 – UFCW Local 500 members working at Laferté renovation centres in Saint-Hyacinthe and Drummondville, Quebec have achieved a new union contract that provides better wages and improved work/life balance.

Under the new collective agreement, minimum wage rates have increased by 6.25 to 32 percent and maximum rates will rise by 14 to 32 percent, depending on job categories. As well, the employer has agreed to include part-time employees with limited availability in the UFCW Québec Dental Plan and will pay 18 cents per hour worked for these employees.

The new contract also provides better work/life balance by requiring the following:

• The work schedule with employees’ hours for the following week will be available before 4pm on Tuesday of each week;
• Two workers can agree to switch their schedules in the same week with prior authorization from their manager;
• Part-time workers with limited availability can request unpaid leave for up to three days (consecutive or not) from October of one year to March of the following year, not including the holiday period;
• Eligible regular workers can bank up to 120 of their overtime hours in a special time bank and withdraw them in the form of paid leave or transfer them to their QFL Solidarité Registered Retirement Savings Plan; and
• A third day of leave for illness or family or parental reasons will be added as each worker completes 640 hours worked based on the previous year’s benchmark.

“We are very satisfied with this new contract, which guarantees good-paying, high quality jobs,” says Antonio Filato, President of UFCW Local 500. “Bravo to the members of the bargaining committees, who came together and obtained improved working conditions for members at Laferté,” he adds.

UFCW 500 represents more than 37,000 members at over 675 workplaces in Quebec. To learn more about the outstanding work of UFCW 500,  visit their website.

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