Telus Signs New Agreement with 6,500 Unionized Employees

telus riseup

Telus announced on Friday its employees in the Telecommunications Workers Union, United Steelworkers Local 1944 (TWU) bargaining unit voted to accept a tentative agreement reached by both parties earlier this month on March 6.

The new four-year deal begins April 16, 2023 to March 31, 2027 and will include over 6,500 Telus employees across Canada.

“We are extremely pleased that our team members have voted to accept the new agreement, which effectively balances the needs of our team members, customers and shareholders, while enabling our collective success in a highly competitive and dynamic marketplace,” said Darren Entwistle, President and CEO of TELUS, in a statement.

The United Steelworkers Local 1944 had a #RiseUP campaign that bargained for more gains for its members. The union detailed the following benefits it was able to bargain for with Telus on its website:

  • Pay provisions for employees absent from duty now applies to all members
  • A standardized Union introduction for all members
  • Domestic Violence Leave
  • Increases, long overdue, to per diem rates, boot allowances, and premiums
  • Enhanced Technological Change Protection
  • Language allowing our stewards to participate in Investigative Meetings
  • Ability to remove Letters of Concern
  • The automatic removal of sunsetted discipline
  • Health benefits and wages for Appendix C
  • A VDU break for Appendix B consistent with Appendix A
  • Prescriptive wage administration language for Appendix B

“Every single win was made possible by your solidarity. Participating in events, sharing pictures, writing letters, participating in your unit meetings or taking part in rallies. Together, our voices became a powerful transmitter, calling for change in our workplaces,” said the USW Local 1944 earlier this month.

According to the USW Local 1944, 70% of its membership voted in favour of accepting the tentative agreement reached with Telus. The tentative agreement took 14 months of bargaining and resulted in a strike vote in February.

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