New Contract for JMR Electric Employees

DATE: February 22, 2011

Exeter, ON—Employees of JMR Electric Ltd. voted 75 percent in favour of a settlement negotiated on their behalf by Construction Workers Local 53.

At meetings across the province, employees met with CLAC representatives to review settlement terms. The three-year contract provides wage increases in each year of the agreement. Skilled tradespersons’ wages will increase up to $3.59 per hour over the next three years—a 9.2 percent increase. Other key improvements include a one percent increase to employer-paid pension contributions, annual increases to the daily subsistence allowance paid when employees work out of town, improvements to vacation time, and increases to boot and tool allowances.

“Employees were certainly interested in the level of take home pay at the end of the week,” says Roger Grootenboer, Ontario representative. “But more importantly they were looking at the big picture and evaluating their retirement horizon and work-life balance. This contract recognizes these issues while providing the prospect of stable employment.”

Employees of JMR, which is based in Exeter, are currently working at various projects in the greater London area as well as at construction sites across the province.