Republished July 09, 2014 - 4:23 PM
Original Publication Date July 09, 2014 - 12:55 PM
TORONTO - A tentative deal has been reached between the Globe and Mail and its unionized employees, averting a work stoppage at the newspaper in the final hour of negotiations.
Unifor — which represents journalists, ad sales people and administrative staff — says details of the agreement would not be provided until after it's ratified by union members.
The deal, reached with the help of a mediator, avoids a work stoppage by the union which had set a 4 p.m. strike deadline on Wednesday.
"We have reached a tentative deal which the bargaining team unanimously recommends," said Howard Law, director of the media sector at Unifor on Twitter.
"The strike deadline is suspended until further notice."
Law said the union hopes to hold a ratification vote on Thursday for the 374 Globe employees covered by the agreement.
Phillip Crawley, publisher and CEO of the Globe and Mail, said he was pleased with the developments.
"This agreement helps to ensure that our newspaper and staff, the best in the country, continue to be a critical part of the national dialogue," he said in a statement.
Last week, a day after the previous contract expired, workers at the Globe backed a recommendation by the bargaining committee and voted 92.3 per cent in favour of rejecting the offer that was on the table at the time.
Unifor Local 87-M had said that offer contained weakened job security language and cut the base pay for some advertising sales representatives.
The union also said it contained a requirement that editorial staff — except for reporters — work on advertorial copy. A source familiar with negotiations told The Canadian Press the proposed advertorial requirement has been dropped.
The Canadian Press is jointly owned by the parent companies of the Globe, the Toronto Star and Montreal's La Presse.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014