12 January 2007

Pressroom staff heading for conciliation

Halifax Typographical Union | TNG Canada Local 30130

Three days of conciliation have been scheduled for the end of the month, when union negotiators will attempt to obtain a new collective agreement for pressroom staff from whom Halifax Herald Ltd. is demanding big takebacks.

Darren Pittman, president of the Halifax Typographical Union, says Jan. 31, Feb. 1 and 2 have been set aside for a resumption of talks that were interrupted last month when the company's lead negotiator threatened to lock out the 14 press operators and industrial mechanics if they continued to insist on retaining a 10-year-old retirement clause in their contract.

The workers, who produce the daily Halifax ChronicleHerald, have been without a contract since last July 1. Having survived a 13-year wage freeze and done a "fantastic" job of modernizing the operation when a new press was installed, they were infuriated to learn the employer was rewarding them by seeking major concessions. In October, they voted unanimously in favour of giving their bargaining team a strike mandate.

Several contentious issues are still outstanding, says Pittman, including wages, jurisdiction, pension and retirement benefits. The last offer from the company was a four-year collective agreement with a $1,000 lump sum payment and annual increases of 1.66 per cent.