Almost 3,000 members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) walked off the job last Friday in the first strike in Manitoba Hydro's forty-eight year history. A tentative contract was drawn up Thursday, which includes a "fair general increase" for all union members, and covers less than a three-year period. Some IBEW members returned quickly to work, back on the job already Friday morning, after spokeperson Lauris Kleven announced that the union had decided not to wait for ratification of the new contract to send members back to work. All members are scheduled to be back at work by Tuesday. Manitoba Hydro also reached agreements with its gas utility workers and its office support workers this week.
See "Some Hydro workers back on the job", cbcnews.ca, October 8, 2009