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18 June, 2007
After 18 months of negotiations and consultations, workers UK’s ICEM affiliate Unite – the merged union of Amicus and Transport and General Workers Union – ratified a national agreement on behalf of 3,000 workers in the paper manufacturing industry.
The new accord comes under a framework “Partnership Agreement” put in place earlier this year between the two unions and UK’s GMB trade union, and the Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI), an employers’ association of pulp, paper, and converting companies.
“I believe this new agreement raises the employment standards for workers in the paper manufacturing industry,” said Unite (Amicus section) National Officer Peter Ellis. “It reaffirms the commitment of Unite members and those conforming companies of the CPI Paper Sector to a modern and sustainable approach to good industrial relations, so necessary for the security of our members’ jobs in a stable business environment.”
The agreement includes significant language regarding temporary and agency work, model information and consultation language, extra personal time, an expanded industry sick pay benefit, up to ten days’ pay for paternity leave, and up to five days’ bereavement leave pay.
Unite, the CPI, and the UK’s Department of Trade and Industry will formally launch the agreement in the days ahead as part of the new “Partnership Agreement,” which has as its motto, “Work Together, Grow Together, Stay Together.”