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Union and hospital corporation reach tentative deal

The Yukon Hospital Corporation and about 250 of its unionized workers have reached a tentative new contract. The possible three-year deal was announced Friday.
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The Yukon Hospital Corporation and about 250 of its unionized workers have reached a tentative new contract.

The possible three-year deal was announced Friday.

Both sides are recommending that the deal be ratified. No details are being released until that happens.

The hospitals’ board of trustees is scheduled to meet on April 29 to ratify the deal. A similar meeting for union members will happen sometime after that. No date has been set.

“The tentative deal achieved today came about through co-operation and mutual respect,” YEU president Steve Geick said in a statement.

“Our members provided their bargaining team with an unwavering mandate and the team worked hard to make sure a fair deal was reached.”

The union represents workers at the three Yukon hospitals, including almost all staff except registered nurses and doctors. That includes lab, medical imaging and maintenance staff.

Their four-year contract ran out at the end of last August.

If approved, the new three-year agreement would be in effect from September 1, 2014 to August 31, 2017.

At the beginning of this month members voted to strike if necessary after talks broke down.

“We are pleased that we were able to successfully conclude negotiations and avoid the potential for any disruption to patient care,” the corporation’s CEO Jason Bilsky said in a statement.

“We recognize the hard work by both bargaining teams and thank them for their efforts to reach agreement.”

The key issue was pensions, the union has said. Employees want more of a say in how pensions are managed.

Contact Ashley Joannou at ashleyj@yukon-news.com