Workers at Super C achieve new contract – UFCW 500

Quebec City – May 2, 2016 – Workers at the Super C grocery store in the Vanier area of Quebec City have ratified a new collective agreement. The contract requires the employer to post five new positions within four weeks of ratification.

Two levels have been added to the wage scale, which provides an increase of 25 cents per hour every three months for the first year of the contract. Starting rates will be based on the minimum wage, to which raises of 25 cents to $2 per hour will be added at certain levels. The agreement provides members with a 1.5 percent wage increase from 2016 to 2021 and a 2 percent increase in 2022. As well, members will receive a 1 percent lump sum payment above and beyond the mandatory wage increases.

The Super C members – who work as service and grocery clerks, butchers, assistant floor managers, and assistant meat managers – will also see other improvements to their working conditions, including:

• Two more consecutive days off for each three-week work period for regular workers (those who work 40 hours per week);

• An additional premium of $50 per week when workers temporarily occupy positions that are not part of the bargaining unit for a full week or longer;

• Paid sick leave increases from 40 to 56 hours for regular employees (40 hours) and from 20 to 28 hours for employees who work between 32 to 40 hours per week;

• An added clause awarding paid sick leave to full-time workers on full disability who had maintained an average of twenty-five hours of work in the previous year;

• An increase in the employer’s contribution to the UFCW Quebec Dental Plan from 17 cents to 18 cents per hour per worker; if necessary, this will increase to 19 cents per hour per worker to ensure that 80 percent of employee dental care expenses are covered by the employer; and

• An adjustment to contract language that will make performance bonuses more accessible.

“We are very proud of this new collective agreement, as it secures good jobs in Quebec’s retail food sector,” said Antonio Filato, president of UFCW Canada Local 500. “We believe this agreement will harmonize working conditions across Super C locations and lead to a better work environment for members,” Brother Filato adds.