Tentative deal reached in Co-op Refinery labour negotiation

After more than a year of negotiations,Unifor 594 and the Co-op Refinery have come to a tentative deal.

The union announced on Friday afternoon on its Facebook page that after another set of negotiations an agreement had been reached between it and the company.

• Trailers for workers installed as Co-op labour dispute simmers

In the announcementthe union, which represents over 800 people, said that "while this is not the deal we wanted, it will be accompanied with a recommendation."

"We are pleased that we could reach an agreement that was fair for both sides. While the agreement is still tentative pending ratification by the membership we are encouraged by Unifor's support for the agreement," said Gil Le Dressay, vice president of refinery operations at the Co-op Refinery Complex, in a press release.

The agreement in its current form will be presented to the local during a meeting on April 3 for a ratification vote. According to a press release, Unifor594 will recommend ratification of the agreement.

On March 16, theprovincially appointed mediator "booked out," or stopped mediating negotiations between the two parties. Thatactivated a 14-day cooling-off period which expired on March 30 at midnight. Once that deadline passed, either side could issue a strike or lockout notice within 48 hours.

However, with the agreement reached it would appear a strike or a lockout notice will not be issued at this time.