REGINA — After several weeks of voting, Unifor members working at SaskTel have ratified a new collective agreement. Crown workers at SaskEnergy, SaskPower, SaskWater, DirectWest and SecureTek have also done the same.
Nearly 5,000 Unifor members working at the Crown corporations in Saskatchewan were on strike between September 30 and October 19. SaskTel’s unionized employees returned to work on October 22 after their Unifor bargaining committee signed a tentative agreement. The new five-year collective agreements include a net increase in spending beyond the 5% cap originally imposed by the provincial government.
“Unifor members took historic direct action to get a contract they deserve,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor national president, in a news release. “Solidarity was key to their success and they should be proud of what they accomplished together.”
Although the workers have accepted the deals, the collective agreements still need to be ratified by two of the employers, SaskEnergy and SaskPower.
Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy.
