The union representing 750 mining workers at Mosaic Potash Esterhazy Ltd. in Esterhazy, Sask. has ratified a four-year collective agreement that includes pension and benefits gains.
The agreement includes a .25 per cent increase in employer contributions to the company’s defined contribution pension plan, while members of the defined benefit pension plan will receive a monthly increase of $6 for every year of service.
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It also includes an eight-week maternity leave top-up, paid domestic violence leave and an 11.5 per cent wage increases over the four-year term.
“The domestic violence leave is in accordance with the legislation in Saskatchewan and we added a women’s advocate in conjunction with that,” says Dan Bailey, a representative at Unifor. “It’s important in terms of retention in the mining sector. And we’re in a province where the domestic violence rate is so high, any gains in this area are really positive.”