THUNDER BAY - A nine-week-old strike by workers at Canadian Hearing Society (CHS) offices across Ontario, including Thunder Bay, could end by Friday.
The CHS and the Canadian Union of Public Employees have reached a tentative contract agreement after nearly five days of talks guided by a mediator.
Six CHS staff members in Thunder Bay joined about 220 fellow union members across Ontario in a walkout that began Mar. 6, 2017.
CUPE said that one of the main issues in dispute was the employer's plan to change the policy governing unused sick days, with one member calling the proposal "ill-defined."
There is no word yet on how that issue or other issues were resolved at the bargaining table, but the union's leadership is recommending the agreement to CUPE members..
Details will be released after a union ratification vote scheduled for Friday.
The earliest possible date for staff to return to their jobs is Monday, May 15.
CHS workers perform a variety of functions for the deaf and hard of hearing community including as counsellors, literacy instructors, audiologists, speech language pathologists and interpreters.
According to CUPE, 90 per cent of the staff are women, and 40 per cent are deaf.
