Bell deal reached with Unifor

Talks began last September

After four months of bargaining a tentative agreement has been reached to renew the Bell craft and services workers contract, following several days of negotiations in Montreal.

Details of the new tentative agreement will be released at ratification meetings in the coming weeks. Impacted by the contract are more than 3,800 technicians in Ontario and Quebec that Unifor represents. Members will be notified of times and places for the ratification votes as meeting details are confirmed, said the union.

The collective agreement expired Nov. 30, 2016, and negotiations commenced in Ottawa on Sept. 15, 2016.

Bargaining to renew the Bell Craft collective agreement resumed after a break last week in Montreal, following the direct involvement by Unifor national president Jerry Dias.

Bell senior management contacted Dias directly, declaring an interest in pursuing further discussions at the bargaining table. In a conference call on Dec. 27 between Dias and bargaining committee members, the group agreed to pause holding a strike vote while new bargaining dates were set, according to the union.

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