The new contract ratified yesterday between Ford Motors Company and Unifor includes a move from a hybrid pension plan to a defined contribution plan for new employees, a number of improvements to the health benefits plan, general wage increases and a signing bonus of $6,000.
The deal, which was approved with a vote of 58 per cent, follows the negotiating pattern established with General Motors of Canada Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
“With the Ford ratification, our union has secured more good, unionized jobs at all of the Detroit Three automakers,” said Unifor’s national president Jerry Dias. “We solidified a footprint for the future of auto in Canada and none of this would have happened if our union was not willing to fight for principles and to do it together.”
Read: Ford and Unifor reach tentative agreement, averting strike action
Highlights of the new contract include:
- No change to the current hybrid pension plan but members hired on or after Sept. 19, 2016, will join a new defined contribution plan, which will require a mandatory four per cent contribution by employees and will be matched at four per cent by the employer;
- A one-time lump-sum payment of $1,500 per retiree or surviving spouse for pre-1987 retirees;
- A 50 per cent reduction in the health-care deductible for retirees and their surviving sponsors;
- An increase in the per-visit amount of physiotherapy coverage, from $50 to $200;
- Expanded coverage for psychological services and assessments, paramedical maximums and the vision care plan;
- Two general wage increases of two per cent each over the life of the contract; and
- A signing bonus of $6,000 and a $2,000 lump sum in the second, third and fourth year of the contract, both of which total $12,000 over the next four years;
Read: DC pension deal with GM to ‘certainly influence’ talks with Ford, Chrysler: lawyer
“Our success in these negotiations should be a reminder to all employers and the government about the kind of jobs and economy that Unifor is fighting for,” said Dias.