A tentative agreement between VIA Rail and Unifor has narrowly avoided a strike for rail workers.
The federal conciliation period for the two groups ended May 31, which means Unifor would have been in a legal strike position on June 22.
The agreement is between Unifor’s Council 4000 and Local 100, which represents about 2,400 VIA Rail employees who work the stations, on the trains, and maintenance and customer service centres, as well as administrative offices, according to a news release from VIA Rail.
The agreement still has to be ratified with a vote from the Unifor members.
Uniform claims workers face chronic short hours and reduced pay due to the employer’s mismanagement of the board system.
It will be retroactive, applying from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2027.
Details will only be revealed once the agreement has been ratified, according to VIA Rail.
With files from Brad Perry.
