Casino, union strike a deal

SCUGOG ISLAND -- The Great Blue Heron Charity Casino and its unionized employees have hammered out a new labour agreement, bringing an end to 11 days of strike action.

The new four-year pact was ratified Tuesday morning when about 540 of the 850 or so unionized workers voted on the deal, with 58 per cent of those taking part supporting the proposed contract. The vote was held at the Scugog Community Centre.

The agreement comes almost two weeks after the unionized employees walked off the job on Sept. 7 and a little more than a week after the membership struck down the first tentative labour agreement. That proposal deal was rejected by 61 per cent of those who took part in the first ratification vote. That deal was mostly vetoed due to the length of the deal -- the membership opposed the proposed four-year pact, preferring three -- and the employees’ desire for pay similar to other casinos across the province, said union officials at the time.

On Tuesday, Steve Batchelor, president of Canadian Auto Workers Local 1090, stated the union membership garnered noteworthy improvements in the areas of wages, benefits, pensions and short-term disability matters.

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