A union representing 320 production workers, machinists and maintenance personnel at a boat manufacturer in Richmond, British Columbia, said it had prevented a work stoppage.
The company said it had reached an agreement with Dometic Marine Canada Inc. after a year-long negotiation process.
The Christian Labour Association of Canada Local 501 said that after more than a dozen meetings and two mediation sessions with the BC Labour Relations Board, its members held a vote in May and issued a 72-hour strike notice in June.
The company responded with a 72-hour lockout order, but a work stoppage was averted after an arbitrator met with both sides and made a decision last month.
Union representative Don Murphy called the negotiations “the most difficult” he has ever been involved in. He said members had demanded big wage increases due to inflation, but the company had seen a decline in sales.
According to the union, the new agreement means wage increases of nine percent for employees over the next three years as well as “improved wording regarding shift changes and deployments.”
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