HALIFAX — A national union that represents workers at Atlantic Canada’s largest newspaper chain says conditions demanded by Postmedia in its bid to buy the SaltWire Network are not as bad as some observers had feared.
Sean Fitzpatrick, a lawyer who represents the Canadian branch of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), confirms the union agreed to alter contracts for the editorial staff it represents.
But Fitzpatrick says those changes were minor alterations, which included changing the name of the employer from SaltWire to Postmedia.
As well, Postmedia had demanded the union release any successor rights claims that might be filed by unionized employees working in the Halifax-area plant that prints the daily Halifax Chronicle Herald.
Successor rights, as spelled out in provincial legislation, ensure than when a company’s ownership changes, the collective bargaining rights of unionized employees remain protected.
Labour experts had said that giving up successor rights would amount to a major concession by the CWA, but Fitzpatrick says the change will actually have little impact because Postmedia is not buying the plant in suburban Bedford, N.S.
Fitzpatrick says successor rights will remain in place, even if the plant is sold to a new owner.
Still, Postmedia has made it clear it plans to cut jobs in the months ahead, which has left SaltWire’s 363 employees feeling anxious.
The CWA negotiated with Postmedia after the Toronto-based company had reached a tentative deal to buy SaltWire for $1-million — a transaction that received court approval last Thursday.