After over a month on the picket lines, employees at the Cargill plant in Guelph, Ont., returned to work on Monday.
A total of 960 unionized workers, represented by United Food & Commercial Workers Local 175, ratified a new collective agreement on Saturday.
The deal includes a wage increase totalling $3.75 per hour, including $2 per hour in the first year.
It’ll also see workers receive $2,000 a year in improved dental coverage, up to $143 more per week while on short-term disability leave and five days of bereavement for the death of a spouse, child or parent.
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In a news release on Saturday, Kelly Tosato, president of UFCW Local 175, said the members at the Guelph beef processing facility used their vote to make their voices heard.
“It is a tough decision to go on strike and it can be an even more difficult decision to end a strike. But these members took a stand against a huge corporation, and they should be proud of their strength and courage,” Tosato said in a statement.
Members of the UFCW Local 175 turned down the deal on May 26 before going on strike the following day. The strike vote, held in April, had 99 per cent support among the members.
While the plant resumes operation Monday, full-time hours will not be available to all members immediately.
The union said it will continue pro-rated strike pay for the first week for those who don’t receive full-time hours right away.
The Cargill plant is the largest meat processing facility in Ontario, where approximately 75 per cent of the province’s cattle — more than 1,500 every day — are processed.
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