Unifor members at DHL Express across Canada vote to strike

TORONTO, Nov. 26, 2013 /CNW/ - Unifor members across Canada working at DHL Express delivery service have voted on average 98 per cent in favour of a strike if necessary, during a series of votes over the last two months.

Unifor represents more than 600 DHL workers across the country in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia. There are five regional collective agreements.

"It is imperative that we bargain a settlement that reflects the contributions that our members have made towards the success of DHL.  The last collective agreement was bargained during the toughest of economic times when all DHL jobs were at risk," said Bob Orr, assistant to the National President

"We must move forward on behalf of our members and we must negotiate an agreement that ensures the integrity of the last collective agreement is maintained.  It is paramount that the employer bargain in good faith and not only reward our members for what they have done but also they live up to all provisions of the last agreement that were negotiated in the best interest of our members and the Employer."

Unifor members at DHL Express deliver and pick up packages across Canada, including international freight. Negotiations have been ongoing since May 2013 and are scheduled to resume November 29 in Toronto, with a possible strike deadline set for December 5 at 12:01 am. Strikes would begin simultaneously across Canada.

DHL is part of the world's leading postal and logistics Group, Deutsche Post DHL, and encompasses three divisions: DHL Express, DHL Global Forwarding, Freight and DHL Supply Chain.

Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, with than 300,000 workers across Canada. Unifor was founded on Labour Day weekend by the Canadian Auto Workers union (CAW) and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP).

SOURCE: Unifor