Montreal – August 18, 2014 – UFCW Canada Local 500 members at the Maxi store in Lachine, Quebec have unanimously ratified a new collective agreement. The new contract runs from July 2014, until July 2019. Bargaining committee members included Reynald Roy, a union steward, and Marie-France Tanguay.

Under the terms of the new agreement, members who have worked at least 500 hours while being at the top of their salary range get a 2% wage increase retroactive to July 13, 2013. This 2% increase also applies every year, in July, in the case of members who have accumulated at least 500 hours worked while being at the top of their salary range. As for members who are still going up the salary ladder, they will move up the grid after every 500 hours worked.

In addition to wage increases, the new collective agreement provides for many improvements, such as:

• The creation of five new regular positions;

• A $0.60 premium per hour worked for every employee who temporarily works for more than six hours during the same week in a position that is classified higher than her or his own;

• A weekly $50.00 premium for every employee who stands in for a department manager upon the employer’s request;

• An hourly $1.00 premium for every employee who works on the night shift;

• A $0.50 bonus per hour worked for every assistant re-stocking manager;

• An employer’s contribution to the Régime de soins dentaires des membres des TUAC du Québec (‘‘dental plan for UFCW members in Quebec’’) set at $0.18 per hour worked, which may be increased to $0.19 per hour worked if the hourly contribution proves to be insufficient by the scales that are stipulated in this dental plan.

"Building on established rights and benefits while creating and securing jobs is UFCW Canada Local 500’s bargaining philosophy. The new collective agreement at the Maxi in Lachine is such an achievement," says UFCW Canada Local 500 President Antonio Filato. "I wish to congratulate all members who were directly or indirectly involved in the negotiating the new collective contract".