The union that represents 5,600 workers at Ford Motor Co. of Canada confirmed Sunday its members had ratified a three-year contract with the automaker, setting the pattern for upcoming talks with General Motors and Stellantis.
Unifor and Ford reached a tentative agreement Tuesday after extending a strike deadline by 24 hours. At the time, the union said the three-year deal addressed all issues raised by members for this round of bargaining.
On Sunday, the union said the wage increases amounted to the highest ever negotiated in bargaining with an automaker in Canada. In all, 54 per cent of union members who voted endorsed the proposed collective agreement, which includes a general wage increase of 15 per cent over three years.
Lana Payne, national president of Unifor, issued a statement saying the deal will mean tremendous gains for autoworkers.
“Your bargaining team pushed Ford of Canada on every front to deliver a contract that fundamentally transforms pension plans, provides protections during the (electric vehicle) transition and includes the highest wage increases in the history of Canadian auto bargaining,” Payne said.
“We know this is a challenging time for all workers and this agreement tackles the affordability issues so many face today.”
The contract calls for a wage increase of 10 per cent in the first year, two per cent in the second year and three per cent in the final year.
Meanwhile, the base rate for hourly wages will increase by 25 per cent for those with a skilled trade, the union said. The deal also includes a reactivated cost-of-living allowance, a $10,000 bonus, two new paid holidays and pension improvements.
That means a Ford worker with one year seniority will see their wages increase from $25.75 to $46.13 by the end of the three-year deal, which includes the cost-of-living allowance, the union said.
Jim Stanford, a labour economist and director of the Centre for Future Work, said the wage increases are the most generous gains in the history of the Canadian union.
“To have a 10 per cent increase in the base is unprecedented, and there are other wage provisions that have to be considered,” he said in an interview Sunday, adding that another provision will ensure new hires start at more than $30 an hour.
There are also provisions for more investment in the Ford engine plant in Essex, Ont., and “special (electric vehicle) transition measures” for Unifor members who could lose their jobs as changes are made to the assembly plant in Oakville, Ont.
Unifor reaches tentative deal with Ford, averting autoworkers strike
On the pension front, Stanford highlighted Ford’s decision to transfer Unifor members currently enrolled in the defined-contribution plan into a more stable defined-benefit plan.
“We could see that precedent picked up by other industries,” he said, adding that most private-sector companies have spent the past 30 years trying to get out of defined-benefit plans. Stanford said higher interest rates have made these plans more affordable.
“This could be the beginning of a trend. where more private-sector employers start to look at DB plans again.”
Stanford said the union’s success reflects the fact that the big automakers remain highly profitable at a time when automation and the high productivity of their workers has helped reduce labour costs to only five per cent of total operating costs.
With the Ford deal ratified, Unifor can now try to replicate that agreement at the other big automakers, General Motors and Stellantis, which includes Chrysler and Dodge among its brands. The union has yet to announce which automaker it will select for bargaining.
In the U.S., workers at General Motors and Stellantis plants have been participating in limited strikes, and on Friday expanded the work action to 38 locations in 20 states.
The new Ford contract in Canada will help the United Auto Workers union in the U.S., Stanford said.
“These are two separate countries and two separate unions with separate histories,” he said. “Now that Ford has an agreement with Unifor (in Canada) … I think that will help the UAW reach a very good settlement south of the boarder as well.”
CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.
It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.
The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.
The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.
“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”
Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.
BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.
The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.
BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.
It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.
The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”
Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.
The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.
Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.
It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
