As part of a new labor agreement reached between General Electric Canada and the Canadian Auto Workers, GE has committed to developing a North American Centre of Excellence.
The Centre to be located at the company’s Peterborough, Ontario, plant.
A multi-year, multi-phase restructuring of the Peterborough operation is also part of the agreement and would involve investments in process and capital equipment to improve the plant to global standards.
Other terms of the three-year pact include wage increases of 2% in the first year, 2.5% in the second year, and 3% in the final year. Also included are improvements to workers’ pension and benefits packages described as “significant” by labor sources in Canada. They include an extension of supplemental pension payments to extend bridge payments until retiring workers qualify for pension coverage.
