BY CRAIG GILBERT
An end to the four-month-old strike at Greater Sudbury Utilities could be within sight.
Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 4705 has reached a tentative deal with Greater Sudbury Utilities.
Local 4705 president Wyman MacKinnon couldn't release any other details early Monday morning.
?We have reached a tentative deal,? he said.
Earlier this month a mediator was brought in to facilitate negotiations. His first act was to install a media blackout on both sides.
The major stumbling block in negotiations for the past 120 days or so has been benefits for new hires once they retire.
The deal was reached Sunday afternoon after a weekend of intense negotiations, guided by an independent mediator agreed to last week. Gerry Lee, a well-respected labour mediator in Ontario, was retained by the parties to try and find a solution to the lengthy strike.
?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,? said MacKinnon. ?Thanks to the assistance of Mr. Lee and the open-mindedness of vice-chair Brian Montgomery, we were able to reach a memorandum of agreemtn that our negotiating committee can live with.?
The negotiating committee will be recommending unanimous acceptance of the deal, said 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,? he said. ?A ratification vote will be held Friday...if the deal is ratified, the workers could return to work as early as Monday, Oct. 25.?
Prior to the mediator getting involved this month, every proposal the management side has put forward since before the strike began June 19 has included a clawback of benefits for retirees once they turn 65.
It would have applied to future hires, not current employees or retirees.
The union in their latest few proposals has offered an alternative savings package they said would give the utility the savings they are looking for without cutting benefits.
Read Wednesday's Northern Life for more details.
