Negotiations at its Vallée-Jonction plant: Olymel deplores the union's refusal to recommend the adoption of an agreement in principle that it had already accepted in the presence of the conciliator.

VALLÉE-JONCTION, QC, March 29, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - After intensive discussions during the conciliation process under the supervision of the Ministry of Labour since Thursday, March 26, and an agreement in principle that received a favourable recommendation from the conciliator which both parties have signed, Olymel management deplores the attitude taken by the union leaders, who refuse to recommend the approval of the agreement to their members. For the employer, which has made major concessions over and above its initial offers, it is an essential condition to maintaining the agreement in principle, which should further widen the gap between Vallée-Jonction employees, who already enjoy a very favourable global compensation package in the industry as a whole in North America.

For the employer, this inexplicable attitude can only mean a continuation of the strike at the Vallée-Jonction plant, which is already compromising the resumption of operations, specifically on the second shift. According to Olymel management, this strike has already led to the cancellation of supply contracts that will be difficult to recover unless there is an agreement in the short term.

The Olymel hog slaughterhouse, butchering and boning facility at Vallée-Jonction in the Beauce has more than 1,000 employees working on two shifts. Its operations generate major spin-offs for the region's economy and benefit a large number of producers and other suppliers. Centrally located in a pig production zone, it has a weekly slaughtering capacity of 35,000 hogs and fabricates boned products, various cuts of pork and chilled fresh pork. Much of its production volume is exported to foreign markets.

About Olymel

Olymel is Canada's leader in the field of processing and distribution of pork and poultry meats. The company has made feeding the world its mission, which it pursues passionately with products of impeccable quality. In carrying out its mission every day, Olymel relies on its tradition of maintaining a strong link between farm and table, as well as on innovation and attention to customer and consumer needs. The company employs close to 10,000 persons, including more than 7,000 in Quebec, and has large facilities in Ontario, Alberta, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan. Olymel exports nearly a third of its total sales, mainly to the United States, Japan and Australia, as well as over 60 other countries. Its annual sales are on the order of 2.8 billion dollars.

SOURCE Olymel l.p.

Richard Vigneault, Corporate Communications, [phone] or [phone]