DHL Express workers in Canada who are members of Unifor, Canada’s largest union in the privatesector, have voted by 98% in favour of strike action if necessary in a dispute over a new
collective agreement.“It is imperative that we bargain a settlement that reflects the contributions that our membershave made towards the success of DHL. The last collective agreement was bargained during thetoughest of economic times when all DHL jobs were at risk,” Bob Orr, assistant to the NationalPresident of the union, said.
Negotiations have been ongoing since May 2013 and are scheduled to resume on November 29 inToronto, with a possible strike deadline set for December 5. Strikes would begin simultaneouslyacross Canada, the union said.
Unifor represents more than 600 DHL workers across Canada in British Columbia, Alberta,Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia. There are five regional collective agreements.Unifor members at DHL Express deliver and pick up parcels across Canada, including internationalfreight.
“We must move forward on behalf of our members and we must negotiate an agreement that ensuresthe integrity of the last collective agreement is maintained. It is paramount that the employerbargain in good faith and not only reward our members for what they have done but also that theylive up to all provisions of the last agreement that were negotiated in the best interest of ourmembers and the employer,” Orr added.
Unifor comprises more than 300,000 workers across Canada. It was founded with the merger of theCanadian Auto Workers union (CAW) and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada(CEP) in August this year.
