GREATER SUDBURY The union representing striking workers at Greater Sudbury Hydro Plus Inc. has reached a tentative agreement with the utility, after 17 weeks on the picket line.
We are pleased the vice-chair of the hydro board was able to work with us on this, despite our earlier impasses with the Mayor and hydro board chair, says Wyman MacKinnon, CUPE 4705 president, representing 85 hydro workers on strike since June 19th. Thanks to the assistance of Mr. Lee and the open-mindedness of vice-chair Brian Montgomery, we were able to reach a memorandum of agreement that our negotiating committee can live with.
The deal was reached Sunday afternoon after a weekend of intense negotiations, guided by an independent mediator agreed upon earlier in the week. Gerry Lee, a well respected labour mediator in Ontario, was retained by the parties to try and find a solution to end the lengthy strike.
The negotiating committee will be recommending unanimous acceptance of the deal, says CUPE national representative Dennis Burke. Details of the tentative agreement will not be released until after our members have had an opportunity to review the details and vote. A ratification vote will be held Friday, October 22nd. If the deal is ratified, the workers could return to work as early as Monday, October 25th.
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For further information, please contact:
Wyman MacKinnon
President, CUPE 4705
705-560-4705 (office)
705-669-8526 (cell)
Dennis Burke
CUPE National Rep.
705-674-7557 (office)
705-669-9463 (cell)
Robert Lamoureux
CUPE Communications
416-292-3999