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[Burnaby, B.C.] The Hospital Employees’ Union has reached a tentative settlement with US-based Aramark covering nearly 1,300 hospital cleaning staff working in Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health hospitals and extended care facilities. The four-year deal was reached late Tuesday in Burnaby with the assistance of mediator Vince Ready. Talks resumed Monday just days after HEU members delivered a 97 per cent strike mandate to their bargaining committee. It’s the second major agreement settled by the union in as many weeks. On September 15, the union reached a tentative deal with Paris-based Sodexo covering 1,400 cleaning and dietary staff working across the Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island. “This agreement improves the economic security of our members and their families,” says Pearson. “In particular, significant improvements were made to the members’ health and welfare plan covering dental, paramedical coverage and extended health care.” HEU members are still without a contract with the UK’s Compass Group and its subsidiary Marquise. Strike vote results for both Compass and Marquise will be announced later this week. The Compass-Marquise negotiations include cleaning and dietary staff at Children’s and Women’s Hospital, the BC Cancer Centre and major hospitals and extended care facilities in Victoria and the capital region, Duncan and Nanaimo. Spain’s Acciona – the fourth and final multinational that employs HEU members as support workers in the health authorities – is also without an agreement, but has agreed to adopt the industry average negotiated with Aramark, Sodexo and the Compass Group. |