TORONTO — Unifor says its members at General Motors of Canada have voted 85 per cent in favour of a new three-year contract that will mean the return of production to the automaker’s Oshawa, Ont., assembly plant.
The deal covers 1,700 workers in St. Catharines, Ont., Oshawa and Woodstock, Ont.
GM’s planned new investments under the agreement will include $1 billion to $1.3 billion at Oshawa as well as $109 million in St. Catharines to support added engine and transmission production and $500,000 in operations at the Woodstock Parts Distribution Centre.
The deal was the final agreement to be negotiated between the union and the big U.S. automakers.
Earlier deals with Ford Motor and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles also included promises of billions in new investment in Canada. All three contracts include support from both the federal and Ontario government.
Unifor says the GM contract follows the pattern-setting deal first reached with Ford that includes five per cent increases to hourly rates, a $7,250 productivity and quality bonus, $4,000 in inflation protection bonuses, improved benefits, shift premiums, and restoration of a 20 per cent wage differential for skilled trades.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2020.
