Unifor Press Release - Unifor Reverses Layoffs at Bell Canada

May 1, 2019 - 12:00 AM

TORONTO- Unifor and Bell Canada have reached an agreement to reverse layoffs of Bell technicians.

The union and the employer have agreed to a memorandum that guarantees the full recall of all 76 employees who received surplus notice on April 18, 2019, to return to work on May 6th. The union and the company also agreed to the offer of a limited Retirement Incentive Offer (RIO) to Craft and Services employees.

“When faced with these layoffs, Unifor members took collective action to oppose Bell’s decision,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “This is not a perfect solution, but it protects the work of these technicians and ensures stability for their families.”

On April 18, Bell Canada issued layoff notice to 76 technicians across Ontario and Quebec. The union worked to reverse this layoff publicly and privately in successive meetings with the employer.

“Unifor members just want good jobs that they can rely on at Bell Canada. That means that we will continue to fight back against all attempts to eliminate jobs, outsource and erode the quality of unionized work at Bell,” said Renaud Gagné, Unifor Quebec Director.

Employees of Bell Canada and Bell subsidiaries have long campaigned against contracting out and other forms of job erosion and will continue to do so.  For current updates about this campaign, visit bellrealtalk.ca.

For further information, contact Sarah McCue, Unifor National Communications Representative at 416-458-3307 (cell) or sarah.mccue@unifor.org.