LifeLabs strike ends with mediated 3-year deal [Video]

British Columbia’s main outpatient lab services provider says it has reached a deal with the union representing about 1,200 striking workers across the province.

LifeLabs says in a statement that it and the BC General Employees’ Union have reached the three-year collective bargaining agreement after both sides received binding recommendations from a mediator.

Workers had been conducting job action in B.C. since February, rotating temporary closures at different lab locations.

In its statement, LifeLabs says it appreciates working with the union and looks forward to continuing what it calls a “strong, collaborative relationship” built over time.

The terms of the deal were not described.

The union originally said in February that workers took job action due to LifeLab’s refusal to increase wages and benefits to cover the high cost of living and “poor working conditions …