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Local 700 members working for the DHL courier service recently ratified their first labour contract since joining Unifor in April 2019. After a bargaining process that began in November 2019, an agreement was finally reached in June.
It should be noted that the group of workers in Quebec was represented by another union prior to 2019, whereas all other DHL employees in the rest of Canada were already members of Unifor.
Highlights of the new agreement include the following gains:
- Integration of 90% of Quebec workers in the national agreement;
- A 5% wage adjustment and increases of 2.2% retroactive to January 1, 2020;
- A lump sum payment of up to $3,000;
- A reduction in the number of years required to be eligible for the 4th and 5th week of vacation and addition of a 6th week of vacation after 20 years of service;
- For owner operators, a 5% + $5 adjustment on the minimum per day and 5% adjustment on stops, parts, core zone, etc.;
- For owner operators, a right to have a say on route revisions; option to work a maximum of 10 hours per day;
- A 5-year contract with increases of 2.2%, 2.5%, 2.5%, 2.6% and 2.8%;
- A contribution of $0.25/hour for the Paid Education Leave program (PEL);
- Numerous additional gains.
“I’d like to acknowledge the efforts of the bargaining committee members and stewards who made it possible to achieve this first collective agreement with Unifor for our Quebec members,” said Alain Daigle, Local 700 president.
Unifor represents approximately 2,000 DHL members across Canada, including 200 in Quebec. They work as hourly drivers and owner operators in DHL’s four Quebec service points, located in Quebec City, downtown Montreal, Lachine and Mirabel.
