Three-year deal for 103 unionized workers at St. Marys cement plant Bowmanville

Unionized members at the St. Marys Cement plant in Bowmanville have ratified a new three-year contract, securing key economic and benefit improvements, including a 16 per cent wage hike over the life of the contract.

The wage package, negotiated by Unifor Local 222, will give production workers between $6 and $7 more per hour over three years. Skilled trades workers will see wages increase by nearly $9 per hour over the course of the contract.

The contract expands benefit coverage to vision, paramedical and mental health services, as well as the addition of major dental coverage.

“Local 222 members at St. Marys Cement work incredibly hard in a demanding industry,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “I congratulate the membership for ratifying a very strong collective agreement and our bargaining committee for making so many important gains. Take pride in what you have accomplished here.”

Members will also be transitioned into The College of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT) DB+ Pension Plan with employer contributions increasing to 11 per cent of members’ earnings.

“This contract delivers on the core needs of our members. It provides a better and more lucrative wage package, greater supports, benefits and retirement security that will help members’ work-life balance,” said Unifor Local 222 St Marys Cement plant chair Paul Sowden.

Other key improvements Include increased shift premiums, paid lunch breaks for all employees, lump-sum retirement supplement payments, and new annual safety clothing allowance.

The new collective agreement expires on Jan. 31, 2027.

St Marys Cement was founded in 1912 in the western Ontario town of the same name and opened the Bowmanville plant in 1968. The plant supplied material for Toronto landmarks such as the CN Tower, Ripley’s Aquarium and Roy Thompson Hall – as well as the Darlington nuclear plant situated next door.

Its products have also been used to make countless roads and bridges in southern Ontario, the GTA and the Great Lakes region.

Now owned by international building materials supplier Votorantim Cimentos, which bought St Marys and its six locations (four in the U.S. and two in Canada) in 1991, the Bowmanville plant has about 130 employees, including 103 represented by Unifor Local 222.