After more than a month behind picket lines, a local company has reached an agreement with truckers.
Unifor, the union representing truck drivers, announced last Friday that members had ratified a new collective agreement with Harbour Link.
Truckers set up picket lines at the company's Tilbury location in early December after the two sides failed to reach an agreement.
In late November, the union reached agreements with six other trucking companies after several days of around-the-clock bargaining, leaving drivers at just Harbour Link and Richmond-based port Transport without an agreement.
According to the union, the agreement with Harbour Link meets the framework of the deal signed with the other companies.
"The days of trucking companies violating the law and thumbing their noses at container truck drivers are coming to an end," said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor's B.C. area director. "Our members at Harbour Link should be applauded for their determination to stay on strike over the holiday season to secure a fair deal."
In a statement on the company's website, Harbour Link president David Payne thanked customers for standing by the company over the last seven weeks.
"Our customers are the backbone of our business and we look forward to working with each of them right away," he said.
"It was imperative for us to negotiate a contract that would meet the needs of our customers and permit Harbour Link to remain competitive in the container trucking business," he said.
The union said the deal increases "off dock" and CN and CP rates for local drivers and covers drivers' cargo insurance, as well as increasing trip and mileage rates by nine per cent for highway drivers. Those rates will increase by a further two per cent in 2017 and 2018. Retroactive wages owed from April 2014 will be paid no later than Jan. 22.
