Union members at DaimlerChrysler Canada have voted by a wide margin to approve a three-year labour contract with the automaker, the Canadian Auto Workers union told Reuters on Sunday.
Based on an initial count, the union said workers voted 86% in favour of the deal reached on Sept. 20. The pact, which averted a strike, provides modest wage, pension and benefit increases, but will also cut about 1,000 jobs over the course of the contract, the report noted.
The news agency noted that the vote came in below the 95% show of support by Ford of Canada workers for a similar contract ratified on September 18 and that the union is still in contract talks with General Motors of Canada.
Reuters said the union conducts negotiations with the automakers every three years and uses the pattern of the first deal as the standard on wages and other issues for the other two.
The CAW reportedly warned as early as September 19 that GM Canada has rejected the pattern because it feels the pension component is too expensive given its larger pool of retirees. The union represents more than 17,000 workers there.
