More than 500 Unifor members in the Dryden-based Domtar (Canada) Pulp Mill and Woodlands operations have voted overwhelmingly in favour of new four-year collective agreements according to a Nov. 20, 2018 release.

"Unifor has made it a priority to raise and equalize standards in the pulp and paper sector," said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. "I’m pleased to say that both of these contracts achieve the Eastern Canada Pulp and Paper Pattern established by our union in April."

Last night, 230 maintenance, production and office employees from Unifor Local 105 at the Dryden Pulp Mill voted 87 per cent in favour of their new deal while 275 wood harvesting, trucking and chipping employees from Unifor Local 324 voted in favour by a 94 per cent margin.

"These contracts contain some of the largest monetary increases in the sector in almost two decades," said George Smith, Unifor Local 324 President. "As indicated by the strong ratification results, our members were extremely pleased with the solid gains secured in these new collective agreements."

Top pay at Woodlands will increase to $40.60/hour with top pulp mill pay reaching almost $46/hour by the final year of the two deals.

"These agreements provide long term stability for Domtar, but most importantly, they achieve key language improvements and significant monetary gains for over 500 Unifor members in Dryden and Ear Falls," said Stephen Boon, Unifor National Representative.