Montreal – February 20, 2014 – Following a series of ratification meetings, 88% of the 900 members of UFCW Canada Local 500 have voted in favour of a new collective agreement. With this seven-year agreement, retroactive to August 2013, labour contracts are renewed for employees at seven Loblaw food stores – Ahuntsic, Cavendish, Pierrefonds, Jean-Talon, Kirkland (Provigo Le Marché), Saint-Laurent and LaSalle.

“This is great news for our members,” said Antonio Filato, president of Local 500. “It reflects our commitment and that of Loblaws to provide workers in the food sector with good working conditions despite challenges in this industry segment which has become highly competitive since the arrival of Walmart and Target. Local 500 is very proud of this agreement that it negotiated with Loblaw; it shows that the Canadian food giant’s recovery will include an investment in its labour force.”

Some highlights of the new agreement: 

• Yearly 2% wage increase;

• New “regular employee” position;

• Increased employer’s contribution to existing pension plan to 15¢/hour worked;

• Coverage for dental care in the future;

• Increased bonus for night work.

“This collective agreement is yet another example to our members that their union has spared no efforts in securing their jobs and maintaining past gains,” said Antonio Filato.

Unionized labour in Quebec’s food sector at a glance:

• UFCW represents 81% of all unionized labour in Quebec food markets, with some 39,200 members grouped into 534 bargaining units;

• 171 of the 230 Loblaw stores in Quebec are unionized by UFCW Canada; our larger organization represents close to 13,500 Loblaw employees in Quebec;

• UFCW Local 500 represents unionized workers in approximately 400 food stores in Quebec, 129 of which are owned by Loblaw;

• UFCW Local 500 represents nearly 6,600 Loblaw employees;