CEP and Bell Canada reach tentative agreement

MONTREAL, Dec. 3, 2012 /CNW/ - The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada and Bell Canada reached a tentative collective agreement on Nov. 29 on behalf of technical employees working in Québec and Ontario.

The bargaining committee is recommending acceptance of the tentative deal. CEP Local representatives will go over the details of the agreement at a bargaining caucus on Monday, Dec. 10.  Ratification meetings will be held between Dec. 11^th and 20^th for Locals in Quebec and Ontario. The results of the vote will be released Dec. 21.

Bargaining between the parties has been ongoing since September of this year.  The collective agreement expired on Nov. 30, 2012.   Key issues included salaries, job security, and job re-classifications.  As per the usual CEP practice, details of the agreement will not be released to the media before the affected CEP members are aware of its contents and vote on it.

CEP represents 4,500 technical employees at Bell, including 1,500 in Quebec. CEP is the largest telecommunications union in Canada.

SOURCE: COMMUNICATIONS, ENERGY AND PAPERWORKERS UNION OF CANADA

Sean Howes, CEP National Representative, [phone], ext. 230; [phone]