Ontario Food Basics members gain full-time jobs and improve wages
Ontario Food Basics workers voted 88% in favour to ratify a new collective agreement that protects and grows full-time jobs, secures wage and benefit increases and extends the health benefit plan for part-time workers.
“There was a lot at stake, as these were the first negotiations between Unifor and Food Basics parent company Metro since the pandemic started,” said National President Jerry Dias. “The bargaining committee secured an agreement that moves forward on key union priorities, including securing and adding more full-time jobs with meaningful gains that not only improves the lives of members at Food Basics, but also sets new standards for Ontario discount supermarkets.”
The new four-year collective agreement covers more than 1,400 Local 414 members at 20 Food Basics Stores across Ontario.
“Bargaining was delayed due to the COVID-19 and when negotiations did begin Metro sought to eliminate Department Heads, the highest paid full-time jobs in the bargaining unit for these essential workers,” said Unifor 414 President Gord Currie.
“Our members delivered a strong strike mandate, which encouraged the committee to be bold in their demands to the company and proved to Food Basics that we were not going to back down. Most significantly, we bargained language that not only protected full-time Department Heads it went even further to create 10 new full-time jobs.”
Collective agreement highlights:
- Wage increases for full and part-time workers, with full back pay.
- Elimination of part-time wage tiers.
- Protection and growth of full-time jobs
- Commitment that full-time jobs lost through attrition will be replaced
- Extension of health benefit plan for part-time workers
- Increased vacations for senior employees.
- More flexible bereavement leave.
- Improved optical plan for full-time and part-time plan members.