Workers approve deal; strike at General Motors CAMI plant ends

Oct. 16, 2017 – Workers at General Motors’ CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ont., accepted a tentative agreement Monday, ending a four-week-long strike.

The contract proposal was hammered out last week and Unifor, which represents 2,500 of the 2,800 workers affected, had recommended the deal be accepted.

The union says almost 86 per cent of production workers and 79 per cent of tradesworkers approved the contract. About 2,400 workers voted.

Mike Van Boekel, CAMI unit chairman for Local 88, says employees will receive four per cent wage increases over the four-year deal, a $6,000 signing bonus and annual payments of $2,000 each Christmas.

While GM didn’t agree to specific investments at the plant, CAMI will remain the main production centre for the Equinox with three shifts.

Van Boekel says the automaker will be forced to pay $300 million for any future job cuts. About 400 workers are currently on layoff.

The automaker threatened last week to shift more production to Mexico if a settlement wasn’t reached swiftly and the two sides agreed to a deal on Friday.

Striking workers will start returning to the job at 11 p.m. Monday.

News from © Canadian Press Enterprises Inc. 2017