The 2,200 employees at Maple Leaf Foods’ hog processing plant in Brandon have a new union contract, which includes concessions that make it easier for foreign workers to remain in Canada.
On Jan. 5, the Maple Leaf workers voted 78 percent in favour of the five-year contract. With productivity and attendance bonuses, an entry level worker will now earn $13 to $14 per hour and the most senior employees will receive $18.50 per hour, said Robert Ziegler, president of United Food and Commercial Workers local 832.
As well, all union members will receive wage increases of $1.30 to $2.10 per hour during the life of the contract and will see improvements to shift premiums.
“The wage increases I think are fair. It’s a balance for the company,” Ziegler said.
Of the more than 2,200 employees in Brandon, 500 are Chinese, 600 are from Colombia, El Salvador and other Spanish speaking countries and 200 are Ukrainian.
Ziegler said protecting the rights of foreign workers was a priority in the negotiations.
“We tried to ensure that people are treated fairly. We’re going to get the contracts translated, we’re going to try and expedite the processing of their paperwork. That’s a big positive, I think.”
The new labour agreement requires Maple Leaf to translate the contract and employee handbook into the first language of more than 100 union members.
The company will now handle the necessary paperwork to help foreign workers remain in Canada. New foreign workers need government approval to stay in the country for a second year, Ziegler added.
Before this contract, workers often didn’t know if they could stay in the country until the final days of their first year.
“The company’s agreed to do it earlier, so there’s not that pressure (on the employee),” Ziegler said.
“It gives the worker some security in that they know they can concentrate on their job and their family. They don’t have to worry about all their paperwork going through.”
