Some 25,000 health-care support workers have ratified a new collective agreement, averting a strike.
The two unions involved say the four-year deal includes average wage increases of 27 per cent and higher starting wages for high-vacancy positions.
The workers were set to walk off the job, while continuing to provide essential services, on Oct. 8.
But hours before the deadline, negotiators reached a tentative deal that was later voted on by union members.
A walkout by the workers, who include health-care aides, laundry workers and support staff in hospitals and personal care homes, threatened to delay services in many parts of the province.
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Gord Delbridge, with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, says the new deal will help recruit and retain workers in a field where staffing has been a challenge.