Striking workers ratify new deal

HALIFAX — A protracted, 18-month labour dispute at Canada’s largest independently owned daily newspaper is over.

The union representing Halifax Chronicle Herald newsroom employees says in a tweet that the striking workers voted 94 per cent in favour of a new contract at a meeting Thursday.

The vote came after a deal was reached Saturday after two days of mediation. Mark Lever, president and CEO of the SaltWire Network, which owns the Chronicle Herald, says in a statement he welcomes an awardwinning team of almost 30 journalists back to the newsroom, and thanked former employees for their contributions to the paper. About 60 unionized workers, including reporters, photographers, editors and support staff, walked off the job in January 2016 over a list of contract concessions the company said it needed to deal with economic challenges in the newspaper industry.

Lever says the journalists will return to work on Tuesday. SaltWire Network also owns The Guardian and the Journal Pioneer.