Monday, July 14, 2025

Caron Equipment Employees Secure Annual Wage Increases, Many Other Improvements with New Contract

TIMMINS, ON—Employees of Caron Equipment Inc., a contractor based in Timmins, Ontario, voted 88 percent in favour of ratifying a three-year collective agreement providing them with annual wage increases and many other improvements.

The 135 unionized labourers, mechanics, rigid truck drivers, rock truck drivers, excavators, and operators are represented by Construction Workers Union, CLAC Local 52. They are currently working on the Cote Gold Mine site and Borden Mine site.

The new contract provides the employees with a 9.5 percent wage increase over three years. The agreement also includes a $1,500 retention bonus, up to $250 reimbursement for prescription safety glasses, increased vision-care coverage to $500, increased travel allowance to 64 cents per kilometre from 55 cents, and improved travel qualification provisions. Other improvements include annual increases to the premiums the employer pays toward the cost of the benefits plan, payment for personal protective equipment doubled to 20 cents per hour and paid twice per year, and a reduction in the threshold for overtime pay from ten hours per day to eight.

“It has taken a lot of work and commitment to get this far with the membership and gain their trust,” says Gord O’Coin, regional director of the CLAC Sudbury Member Centre. “The Operating Engineers union attempted to persuade the employees to join it only a few months ago. We fought through that and were able to secure an excellent agreement for our members. We’re pleased that they voted in favour of ratifying the new contract by a landslide. It’s a testament to the work the union bargaining committee did in listening to members’ needs and achieving them in negotiations with the employer.”

Caron Equipment Employees Secure Annual Wage Increases, Many Other Improvements with New Contract

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