The Daily Chase: Labour talks going different directions at WestJet and Nestle

Here are four things you need to know this morning.

CPPIB buys utility Allete: The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has gone shopping south of the border, agreeing to buy Minnesota-based utility Allete Inc. for US$3.9 billion alongside a partner; GIP. The acquired company brings more than 150,000 power customers and several clean energy-related assets. The acquiring companies are also assuming debt as part of the deal, bringing the total price tag to more than $6 billion. The deal comes amid a boom in demand in the power generation space, as the sudden rush of interest in artificial intelligence has boosted demand for electricity.  

WestJet strikes deal with maintenance staff: Shortly after issuing a 72-hour lockout notice with the union that represents the company’s maintenance engineers, WestJet has struck a tentative deal that will avoid a work stoppage. The two sides had been negotiating since September while failing to meet on a number of issues including compensation, when WestJet issue the lockout notice late last week. On Monday morning, however, it was announced that the airline and the union have hammered out a tentative agreement on what would be the first collective bargaining agreement between the two sides.

Nestle workers in Toronto move to strike: Workers at a Nestle factory in Toronto have voted to strike over what their union calls “lack of improvements to their pension plan.” Unifor said in a press release that 461 members of Local 252 have voted to walk off the job over various issues, including changes to the pension and the time it takes to move to the top of the pay scale. The workers at the plant that makes KitKat, Aero, Coffee Crisp and other bars in the city’s west end previously rejected a two-year freeze on a cost of living adjustment. No talks are currently scheduled between the two sides.