The Region of Queens and its striking 38 public works employees have reached a deal.
Local 1928 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers voted 32-5 around 6 p.m. Wednesday to accept the region’s latest offer.
Jim Sponagle, the local’s business manager, told QCCR Wednesday night that it was hard to turn down.
The three-year deal, retroactive to March 31, 2024, gives all employees a minimum $4-an-hour raise immediately, with increases of 2.5 per cent in each of the second and third years of the contract.
Mayor Scott Christian said he was pleased with the deal and that the region could address some longstanding wage inequities among the workers. The union said they were some of the lowest-paid municipal workers in Atlantic Canada.
Tensions were high in the contract dispute, especially in the past week. Christian said the region will hire workplace experts to help cool things down as employees return to work, likely by Monday.
