After a marathon 41-hour bargaining session, the Saskatchewan CUPE Health Care Council achieved a tentative agreement early Friday, ending a seven-day strike by more than 12,000 health care workers.
The agreement between the Council and the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations was reached with the assistance of mediator Vince Ready.
CUPE members in 18 of the provinces 32 health districts and the northern hospital in Uranium City began returning to work shortly after the tentative agreement was reached.
The memberships tremendous spirit and solidarity on the picket line enabled us to secure a collective agreement that addresses our priority issues over the term of the agreement, says Council president Steve Foley.
The agreement was hard fought and hard won, says Foley, adding the membership made significant gains because of their seven days on the line.
Weve made a major breakthrough on our pension plan and achieved language to deal with the workload issue, as well as other improvements.