Friday July 17, 2009
For Immediate Release
Hamilton, On – Members of IAMAW Local Lodge 1295 employed with Ontario Patient Transfer have ratified their first collective agreement.
“This is a good first agreement and it goes a long way to improving employee relations,” said a pleased Collin Cherry, IAMAW Grand Lodge Representative. “The majority of our membership is under the age of 30 and their biggest issue was a paid lunch,” explained Chief Steward and bargaining committee member Rob North. “It works out to just over a dollar per hour in pay and thanks to the Machinists, it’s no longer a problem.”
For Immediate Release
Hamilton, On – Members of IAMAW Local Lodge 1295 employed with Ontario Patient Transfer have ratified their first collective agreement.
“This is a good first agreement and it goes a long way to improving employee relations,” said a pleased Collin Cherry, IAMAW Grand Lodge Representative. “The majority of our membership is under the age of 30 and their biggest issue was a paid lunch,” explained Chief Steward and bargaining committee member Rob North. “It works out to just over a dollar per hour in pay and thanks to the Machinists, it’s no longer a problem.”
The paid lunch break amounts to a wage increase of 8 per cent in the first year of a three-year agreement. The agreement also provides wage increases of 2 per cent in the second and third year respectively. Other agreement highlights include :
• Established scheduling language
• Increased call-in pay
• Established contract language
The one hundred members provide non-emergency ambulatory patient transfers from Hamilton to Toronto in the east and as far west as Niagara Falls. The IAMAW also represents patient transfer workers at Medi-Van in Winnipeg, Ambutrans in Toronto and Voyageur Patient Transfer Service in Sarnia.