(File photo/CKOM News Staff)

By CKOM News

Crowns, Unifor reach tentative agreement to end strike

Oct 20, 2019 | 5:00 PM

Six Saskatchewan Crown corporations have reached a tentative agreement with Unifor to end a 17-day strike, the Crown Investments Corporation (CIC) announced Sunday afternoon.

The Crown corporations — SaskEnergy, SaskPower, SaskTel, Directwest, SecurTek and SaskWater — signed memoranda of agreement with the trade union to allow workers to return to the job once the agreement has been ratified by employees at all of the Crown corporations.

The union and the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency previously had reached a tentative agreement.

“These agreements were reached because dedicated teams were determined to achieve agreements that are fair and beneficial to both the employees and the corporations,” Crown Investments Corporation president and CEO Blair Swystun said via media release.

“On behalf of the leadership at each of the Crowns and CIC, thank you to the Crown bargaining teams and Unifor’s negotiators who have worked tirelessly to reach settlements.”

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Employees will begin voting on the tentative deals in the coming weeks. No details of the agreements will be released during that time.

“Solidarity and the support from Unifor members at all six Crowns along with those who joined our picket lines from across the province were key to achieving this agreement,” Unifor national president Jerry Dias said in a media release.

Return to work schedules will begin on Monday, the media release said. It is expected to take the Crowns a few days for operations to return to normal.

Employees are expected to receive more information regarding schedules Sunday evening.