WATERLOO REGION - Grand River Transit workers have voted in favour of a new tentative agreement with the Region of Waterloo, putting an end to their strike.

Regional council will meet on Friday at 11 a.m. to discuss the deal, and bus service will resume on Saturday morning if councillors also ratify the contract.

"I'm pleased with the direction that this is going," said Regional Chair Karen Redman. "Universally, I think this will be seen as very good news by regional council."

The region and Unifor Local 4304, which represents about 730 drivers, dispatchers, mechanics and service attendants, reached a second tentative agreement on Tuesday evening. Union members held a ratification vote Thursday morning.

Grand River Transit workers had been on strike since Jan. 21 after union members two days earlier rejected the first tentative agreement reached by the union bargaining team and the region.

During the last negotiations in 2017, union members twice voted down tentative deals before an agreement was reached. This the first strike for Grand River Transit, formed in 2000 when the region amalgamated transit services.

"This is a new experience. We've never had a strike before," Redman said. "I feel this is a really positive development."

Unifor National president Jerry Dias said the bargaining committee focused on addressing the priorities of members.

"Unifor is the union for transit workers in Canada, and this collective agreement shows that we can negotiate the contracts that best address the needs of transit workers," he said in a release.

The new collective agreement includes improved disciplinary language on surveillance camera use, wage increases each year of the collective agreement, and equalization of pay for part-time workers doing the same work as full-time workers.

The new agreement would be in effect for three years and four months retroactive to Jan. 1, 2020.

The region says the buses are ready to resume full service on Saturday morning.

Discussions are already underway at the region on the possibility of refunds for riders who purchased passes but were unable to use the service for 11 days due to the strike.

Redman expects councillors will hear about refund options at Friday's special council meeting, and a decision will follow in the next couple days after bus service resumes.

"People will want and expect that information," Redman said.

The University of Waterloo's undergraduate student association says it will work with transit officials to get refunds for students who pay a reduced rate for a universal pass to ride transit as part of their university fees.

jweidner@therecord.com

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