Jamieson workers on strike in Windsor, Ont., vote to accept 2nd tentative pact

Unifor Local 195 workers are shown on the Windsor, Ont., picket line in February.  (Dax Melmer/CBC - image credit)
Unifor Local 195 workers are shown on the Windsor, Ont., picket line in February. (Dax Melmer/CBC - image credit)

Striking workers at the Jamieson supplements plant in Windsor, Ont., have voted to accept a tentative agreement.

Unifor says the deal includes a 20.5 per cent raise on average for production workers over the four-year deal and 25.5 per cent for skilled trades and maintenance workers.

The employees are also getting $3,000 ratification bonuses.

The union says 72 per cent voted to ratify the deal.

"We are pleased with the deal," Unifor Local 195 president Emile Nabbout said in a media release.

"Through this challenging economy, the workers at Jamieson have produced one of the best-known and most trusted brand of vitamins and health supplements and they deserve to receive their fair share."

More than 300 Local 195 workers have been on strike since Feb. 1.

"We value the contributions of our unionized team members and are looking forward to welcoming them back to work this week," Ruth Winker, Jamieson Wellness's senior director of communications and corporate affairs, said in an email to CBC News.

The first tentative agreement was announced on Feb. 23 but was voted down by workers.

A new agreement, reached over the weekend, was endorsed by the national union and the Local 195 bargaining committee.

The union has said workloads and wages were key issues in bargaining.