REPRINT FROM CANADIAN AUTOMOTIVE NEWS

Unifor members at General Motors of Canada have voted 85 per cent in favour of a new three year contract that will see production return to the automaker’s Oshawa, Ont., assembly plant.

The deal covers 1,700 workers in St. Catharines, Ont., Oshawa and Woodstock, Ont.

General Motor’s planned new investments under the agreement include $1-1.3 billion at Oshawa as well as $109 million in St. Catharines to support added engine and transmission production and $500,000 in operations at the Woodstock Parts Distribution Centre.

GM Canada president Scott Bell said he expects the investment to be “significant” for Canada’s economy because it “will happen fast and generate thousands of new jobs.”

“Bringing pickup production back to Oshawa is noteworthy for a few other reasons as well. Demand for pickups remains strong and has accelerated through COVID-19, accounting for over 40 per cent of GM Canada’s sales,” said Bell in a statement.

The deal was the final agreement to be negotiated between the union and the big U.S. automakers.

Earlier deals with Ford Motor and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles also included promises of billions in new investment in Canada. All three contracts include support from both the federal and Ontario government.

Unifor says the GM contract follows the pattern-setting deal first reached with Ford that includes five per cent increases to hourly rates, a $7,250 productivity and quality bonus, $4,000 in inflation protection bonuses, improved benefits, shift premiums, and restoration of a 20 per cent wage differential for skilled trades.