A five-week strike against heavy duty equipment company Finning International came to an end Friday when 700 of its unionized B.C. and Yukon employees voted 74 per cent in favour of ratifying a four year contract.
The agreement will see wage and benefit increases adding up to 22.55 per cent over four years for Finning's B.C. mechanics, parts department and support personnel.
Of that, 14.75 per cent would go towards wage increases, according to documents posted on an International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers - Local 692 (IAMAW) website.
By the end of the contract, a journeyperson would make $41.08 per hour, a $5.28-per-hour increase over the life of the contract. Likewise, a parts sales person would make $38.38 per hour, up $4.93 and a parts warehouse person would make $31.27 per hour, a $4.02 increase.
"This is a good contract settlement, made possible by the endurance and willingness of IAM members to stand up to their employer," said Stan Pickthall, IAMAW directing business representative in a statement.
"This has been a long haul with Finning, and our membership have shown strong support for their bargaining committee throughout these negotiations."
Picket lines, which went up on June 22 were removed at Finning's 25 locations, following the vote and the workers are expected to be back to work on Tuesday. It was the first time the union struck against the company in B.C. since it was certified to represent Finning workers in 1996, Picthall noted.
