(The Canadian Press circulated the following on June 29, 2010.)
MONTREAL — After months of negotiations, ten days of intense bargaining and a threatened strike, Via Rail and more than two-thousand of its workers have reached a tentative-three year agreement.
“We feel just great about the settlement,” said Canadian Auto Workers representative Bob Chernecki.
CAW represents the more than 2,200 workers, which include maintenance personnel, ticket vendors, and on-board employees.
“It’s tough work and people deserve a fair and equitable wage package and benefit package and we believe we’ve reached that goal,” he said.
The CAW says its master bargaining committee fully supports the agreement, which union members will vote on over next two weeks.
Contract talks concluded in Montreal late Saturday.
Via Rail spokesman Malcolm Andrews said that with the tentative agreement, it will be business as usual for the Crown corporation.
“We get back to business and back to what we do best,” he said Sunday.
On Thursday, the union set a strike deadline of 11:59 p.m. Sunday, sparking fears rail service would be interrupted during the peak tourist season.
Full details of the agreement won’t be released until after the ratification vote, but Chernecki said benefits, overtime and vacation provisions remain intact and workers will see annual wage increases.
The major issues were money, benefits, and pensions.
Both parties note the bargaining sessions were especially difficult given current the economic environment.
A revenue crunch at the passenger rail service since late 2008 — caused in part by the economic downturn that hit tourism and transport industries — added a level of complexity to the talks, maintained Andrews.
“Given the economic crisis the world is coming out of, this one wasn’t easy,” he said.
The workers’ last collective agreement expired December 2009.