Contract ratified

The 52 striking members of the Halifax Typographical Union and the Chronicle Herald reached a tentative deal on August 6 with the help of mediator William Kaplan.
The deal was ratified by a 94 per cent membership vote on August 10.
We would like to thank William Kaplan, appointed by the province earlier this summer as an industrial inquiry commissioner, for his help in bringing the two sides together after a strike of almost 17 months.
The deal includes seniority and training language, a no-layoff clause for two years and job protection for the 25 workers, mainly multi-media reporters, editorial writers/columnists, lead editors and support staff, who are returning to work in the newsroom.
One Sydney reporter will transfer to the Cape Breton Post, owned by Herald sister company SaltWire Network.
The 26 members taking severance can work for media companies, a right the company had sought to extinguish. Departures include layoffs and voluntary exits.
The union news website LocalXpress.ca will be shut down, although HTU was discussing ways to preserve its content with the Herald.
The deal also includes a five per cent across the board salary cut, an increase in the work week from 35 to 37.5 hours, a lower starting rate for new members, a freeze to the company defined benefit pension plan and the transfer of HTU members to the CWA/ITU target multi-employer pension plan.