Deal ends St. John's airport strike Last Updated Wed, 04 Jun 2003 11:26:48 ST. JOHN'S - Unionized workers at the St. John's International Airport have ended a three-month strike after accepting management's latest offer. Members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada voted Tuesday night in favour of a deal that gives them wage increases of between 14 and 18 per cent over four years. The agreement isn't as good as the tentative deal workers had before the strike started, but their regional representative, Larry Welsh, said it was enough to end the walkout that started March 10. "We're realistic enough to realize the deal we negotiated back in November is not a thing that we could get at this point in time," he said. The deal will give workers a four per cent wage increase in each of the first two years. Employees will get another three to five per cent raise in each of the last two years, based on the cost of living. One concession they accepted means new employees will have to pay for 30 per cent of their medical benefits. The 65 employees include office staff, ground crew, plow operators, firefighters and maintenance workers. Some were bound by an essential services agreement to stay on the job, but their union said pickets still managed to slow waiting times at the airport. They plan to make a symbolic gesture of protest as they return to work over the next few days. "We're going to form a picket line together, walk in together and drop each other off at our respective work sites," said union local president and airport firefighter Chris Bussey. Written by CBC News Online staff *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.natalielaughlin.com/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************