Frequently Asked Questions

The General Presidents’ Maintenance Committee and National Maintenance Council for Canada (GPMC | NMC) is an alliance of International Building Trades Unions that negotiates and manages nationwide labour agreements for industrial maintenance. Established in 1952, the GPMC | NMC provides unified contracts covering 13 construction trades, supporting both ongoing and short-term plant maintenance projects across Canada. Our agreements ensure secure, full-time employment for over 14,000 skilled tradespeople, benefit more than 120 employers, and span key sectors such as oil sands, petrochemicals, mining, and power generation. Our collaborative approach with contractors and project owners fosters, flexibility, stability, and high safety standards, highlighted by our annual Canadian Safety Achievement Awards.

Both agreements provide multi-trade maintenance coverage, but they’re designed for different scenarios. The GPMA works best for long-term projects where a single contractor handles comprehensive maintenance at an industrial site for a year or more. The NMA is built for short-term or intermittent work—like seasonal shutdowns—where multiple contractors perform various tasks. While both cover up to thirteen trades under unified terms, GPMA suits sustained single-contractor relationships, and NMA suits flexible multi-contractor operations.

• International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers
• International Association of Heat & Frost Insulators & Allied Workers
• International Association of Operative Plasterers and Cement Masons
• International Brotherhood of Boilermakers
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
• International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers
• International Union of Operating Engineers
• International Union of Painters & Allied Trades
• Laborers International Union of North America
• International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers
• Teamsters Canada
• United Association of Plumbers & Pipefitters
• United Brotherhood of Carpenters, Joiners and Millwrights of America

Note: International Brotherhood of Boilermakers are not covered by our agreements in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and are covered only under the NMA in Ontario*

Yes, it is necessary. In certain situations, clients use two distinct agreements on the same job site, their utilization is determined by the project’s scope and duration.

There is no fee associated with becoming a signatory to any of our agreements. Signatories are required to submit monthly remittances to our office as per the specific collective agreement.

Submit a personnel request form to the relevant local union hiring hall to address your craftsperson requirements for the project. 

Yes. Be sure to follow hiring provisions outlined in the specific agreement (including provisions for name hire and supervision). There is also an option in several of our agreements for recall, in which you can recall a craftsperson who had previously worked on that job site, subject to the time frame outlined in the agreement.

Your responsibilities as a signatory employer include:

• Agreeing to bargain collectively with the Committee / Council and to be governed by the terms of the Agreement and by all lawful settlements of disputes and grievances made pursuant thereto.
• Employing signatory unionized trades persons.
• Agreeing that the jurisdiction recognized for each participating Union shall be the jurisdiction recognized by the AFL-CIO.

All signatory employers retain the authority to manage their workforce in accordance with the provisions set forth in our collective agreements. Employers may discharge or lay off employees for just and sufficient cause; however, no employee shall be subject to discrimination. When exercising these rights, employers are obliged to adhere to progressive disciplinary procedures.