Casino Rama Resort employees gave their resounding Yes to the new three-year contracts that were negotiated last week essentially ratifying the tentative agreement. With the help of this improvement, they are going to witness a wage surge of more than 10 percent over the span of the following three years of operation in Orillia.
Following about four weeks of heated negotiations filled with long sessions of discussions, casino workers expressed their content with the final results they achieved. Unifor Local 1019, the labor union that led negotiations on the new contracts, protects Casino Rama’s employees’ rights. Gateway Casinos and Entertainment and the union dedicated around 18 hours to the last portion of conversation regarding the new contracts regardless of the general exhaustion. The result had to be consulted with the casino employees with the help of a vote.
Workers Ratify Tentative Agreement
The workers at the casino and the adjacent hotel had the chance to inspect the proposed tentative agreement and weight its pros and cons. This happened at a special gathering at the hotel where they had more than 15 hours to learn more about their future contracts of employment and how they are going to benefit from them. More than 1,400 individuals working at the location on a daily basis were curious to learn how their lives are going to change over the span of the next several years.
Once they knew more about the proposed tentative agreement, there was a vote where people had the chance to express their support of discontent with the potential improvements. Some 72 percent of them agreed that these conditions are much more favorable than the current ones and they would like to see them implemented on site of both the casino venue and the hotel tower. This is how they voiced their support and approval of the way things had went.
Unifor Local 1090 made sure that their rights are protected and their previously expressed demands are taken into consideration. This new agreement covers the years ahead of 2021, progressively increasing wages over the span of this period. Workers will be able to receive more than 10-percent surge of their payment which has been their goal all along. In addition to that, they will also see considerable improvements to their pension plan.
Unifor Local 1090 Wanted to Keep it Fair to Everyone
Up until this point, workers at the casino venue has been concerned that their payment and benefit packages are among the lowest ones in the regional field, a status quo that had to be changed. Apart from the wages increase, casino workers will also see the official end of benefit co-payments, another improvement to their employment contracts.
It should be taken into account that they would also see the retention of 10 emergency leave days as a result of the negotiated agreement. In order to keep matters fair and in alignment with working conditions in other Gateway Casinos’ location, the tentative agreement was negotiated in its current state. The requirement for this Saturday vote was that 51 percent of Casino Rama’s workers express their support of the tentative agreement.
The last session of discussions between Unifor Local 1090 and the casino operator lasted 18 hours until the wee hours of the morning. It was a heated one, as it extended past the original deadline for negotiations threatening to see employees take matters to the streets and go on a strike. The very first days of January saw them voice their 95-percent approval of a strike if their demands were not taken into account.
