Oct 29, 2021   SOURCE: BusinessWire

United Steelworkers Union and TELUS Kick Off Contract Negotiations

This week TELUS and its 8,000 unionized United Steelworkers union (USW) members kicked off negotiations to renew the collective agreement. The current contact between the parties expires on Dec. 31, 2021.

“The workers are engaged, fired-up and ready to go. They see that TELUS is a multi-billion-dollar telecom giant and are demanding respect,” said USW Local 1944 President Donna Hokiro.

Key priorities for the union in this round of bargaining include job security, pay equity, health and well-being and securing dignity and respect on the job, including for remote work.

“It all starts and ends with job security,” said Hokiro. “TELUS has been shipping off good middle-class Canadian jobs overseas in droves over the years and it needs to stop.”

Hokiro said that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of the telecommunications sector and the work that happens each day to keep it running smoothly.