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Striking blue-collar workers at Western University have ratified a new deal, effectively ending a six-week job action by the union’s 330 members.
Members of CUPE Local 2361 – the union that represents caretakers, landscapers and trade workers at the university – voted in favour of the deal at a meeting Friday morning, vice-president Chris Yates said.
The newly ratified deal requires final approval from Western’s board of governors and will be brought to the board next week, the university said in a statement Friday afternoon. CUPE Local 2361 workers could be back on the job as early as Oct. 17.
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The exact terms of the new contract, or its duration, have not yet been disclosed.
Western on Friday afternoon reopened several roads on campus after the union’s ratification vote, announcing “CUPE has signaled that they will no longer be picketing at campus entrances.” Several roads on campus were closed in the early days of the strike as a precaution.
London Transit Commission buses, which would not cross the CUPE picket line to enter campus during the six-week strike, are resuming their normal routes, the university said.
The union announced Thursday a tentative deal had been reached with Western administration. A proposed agreement was reached between the union and university officials after negotiations earlier this week.
Workers walked off the job on Aug. 30 after talks broke down. The union had made several demands, including increased pay to keep up with competing employers, such as Fanshawe College.
University officials previously said their offer to workers included an average annual wage increase of 5.3 per cent in a proposed four-year deal.
The job action, which came during the busy start of the fall semester and Western’s homecoming events, had a significant impact on campus and surrounding roads, including traffic delays and congestion.
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