The United Steelworkers union (USW) and Telus on Monday announced 3,000 unionized workers at Telus operations in four provinces have ratified a new collective agreement with the telecom.
Members of USW Local 1944, the workers include call centre and technical support staff and technicians who maintain cellular infrastructure and provide services to residential and business customers. The union members work throughout British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.
Ratification of the new collective agreement comes five months before the existing contract expires next March. The new agreement’s term is from April 1, 2027 to December 31, 2031.
Union and company negotiators reached a tentative agreement on October 20. Details of the tentative deal were sent to union members ahead of a series of virtual ratification meetings held over the last several days. Members voted by an 83-per-cent majority to ratify the agreement, according to a USW press release.
“Our members told us they wanted stability and security in their jobs,” Michael Phillips, president of USW Local 1944, said in the union’s press release. “That’s what our bargaining committee set out to achieve and we were successful, as the ratification vote shows.”
The new contract will provide total wage increases of 12.25 per cent. It also “will ensure stability of pensions and benefits, improve job protections related to redeployment of work, establish new limitations on GPS tracking of workers and institute new commitments related to possible reshoring of work,” according to the release.
Jason Little, USW staff representative, said in the press release that a productive bargaining environment was established at the beginning of negotiations, leading to a good contract that was reached relatively quickly.
“We were firm in our proposals for a fair deal that would improve and protect our members’ working conditions. Both sides brought a respectful and professional approach to the process, which allowed us to reach our goals,” Little said in a statement.
In a Telus press release on Monday, Telus President and CEO Victor Dodig thanked the company’s unionized team members for supporting the agreement and both bargaining teams for their “constructive work”.
“Reaching an agreement well ahead of the current contract’s expiry provides stability for our team members and our business, allowing us to focus together on delivering the reliable service and outstanding experiences our customers count on,” Dodig said in Telus’s press release.
