Earlier this month, the Mediation Services department of Alberta Jobs, Economy, and Trade published the July 2025 Bargaining Update.
This monthly report provides information about the unionized workforce, primarily in Alberta. In July, Mediation Services received settlement information regarding 19 private sector and 15 public sector bargaining settlements, covering 2,179 and 4,684 workers respectively.
Among those settlements was a contract for about 10 workers employed by Lafarge Canada.
The company is based out of Montréal, but it has facilities in Alberta, including a Clover Bar cement plant in Edmonton, where these workers are located. Earlier this year, its parent company, LafargeHolcim, spun off its North American assets, which rebranded as Amrize
Local D331 of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers represents these workers, which include all hourly workers except those in office or sales positions.
Their previous contract expired at the end of 2024. Their new contract was ratified just a couple of weeks before the last one expired.
These workers are set to receive wage increases in every year of their this 4-year collective agreement, which is longer than each of their previous 3 agreements.
| 1 January 2025 | 4.00% |
| 1 January 2026 | 2.25% |
| 1 January 2027 | 2.00% |
| 1 January 2028 | 2.00% |
This will result in a combined increase of 10.25% over the life of the collective agreement, or 10.64% if you account for compounding increases. That averages out to 2.56% (2.66%) per year.
Here is what they received in their last contract.
| 1 January 2022 | 3.50% |
| 1 January 2023 | 2.50% |
| 1 January 2024 | 2.50% |
That works out to a combined increase of just 8.50%, or 2.83% per year on average.
For comparison, the consumer price index in Alberta grew 20.1 points from 145.8 in January 2021 to 165.9 in January 2024, a 13.79% increase.
Because inflation grew 13.79% over the last collective agreements, that 8.50% led to a reduction in real wages of 5.29%.
Their 4% raise at the start of this year will eliminate most of that, but inflation between January 2024 (the last raise in their most recent contract) and January 2025 was 2.53% will still leave them with a 3.82% reduction in wages, when adjusted for inflation. Next year’s increase of 2.25% will fall short of erasing that gap, especially when another year of inflation goes by.
Unless inflation drops in the last 3 years of this contract, these workers will likely head into the next round of bargaining with a loss in real wages.
Here are some highlights of other things that are in this new contract.
The shift differential is not in the new collective agreement. In the previous agreement, it was $1.75 per hour for those working regularly scheduled second and third shifts.
For workers hired after 1 January 2022, pension contributions from the employer will change from $5.58 per hour paid to $5.56 next January, $5.74 the following January, and $6.10 in January 2028.
Paramedical coverage has been added to the collective agreement, which will include 80% of the cost to see a practitioner, to a maximum of $50 per practitioner, per year, per recipient.
The boot allowance will increase to $325 next January and $350 in January 2027.
The value of the meal provided to workers who must work a certain number of excess hours has increased from $12 to $20.
Workers get one floating holiday a year, which they can use at any point in the year. New to this collective agreement, however, is the worker must get prior approval from management to take their floating holiday. As well, any worker who does not use their floating holiday will have it paid out at the end of the year.
Step 2 of the grievnace procedure has been chagned from this:
The Terminal Committee may submit the grievance in writing signed by the employee or employees and the Union President or his selected Union Officer, to the Terminal Manager or his replacement. The Terminal Manager or his replacement shall meet with the Terminal Committee within 10 working days of receipt of the grievance by the Terminal Manager or his replacement.
to this:
Representatives of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers, A.F.L., C.I.O. and C.F.L., as designated by the Local Lodge, may submit the grievance to the designated Company Regional Officer with a copy to the Terminal Manager. If a meeting is deemed necessary, the Local Lodge may be represented by 3 of its members and a representative of the International Union. The Company shall be represented by a Regional Representative(s) and the Terminal Manager.
Also new to the collective agreement is if no one pursues a grievance within 7 days after the employer delivers its decision following the initial discussion meeting, the grievance will be considered settler or abandoned.
Also, a third step has been added to the grievance procedure.
Representatives of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers, A.F.L., C.1.0. and C.F.L., as designated by the Local Lodge, may submit the grievance to the designated Company Regional Officer with a copy to the Terminal Manager. If a meeting is deemed necessary, the Local Lodge may be represented by 3 of its members and a representative of the International Union. The Company shall be represented by a Regional Representative(s) and the Terminal Manager.
Any meeting held will be at the Terminal or other mutually acceptable location. The Company’s decision shall be delivered in writing within 1 week after such presentation by the Union.
The following was added to the section on pensions.
As required by law, where the Company can no longer make pension contributions on behalf of an Employee due to the legal age restriction of 71, the Company will make those payments directly to a non-tax sheltered account held by the same record keeper as the pension plan. This amount shall be deemed taxable income but shall not be deemed to be wages and is therefore not subject to vacation pay calculations or any other compensation or benefit which would normally be calculated on wages.
