TORONTO - Blood services support workers in Ontario have ratified a new contract with Canadian Blood Services by a vote of 71 per cent.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union says the four-year contract covering 800 workers is retroactive to 2013 and will expire in 2017.
The union, which had set a Jan. 8 strike deadline had negotiations failed, says improved job security was key to the ratification.
OPSEU says its primary concern was cost-cutting measures that would include laying off of full-time staff to move towards a part-time, casual work force.
The 800 workers covered by the contract comprise about 20 per cent of the Canadian Blood Services' 4,500 employees.
They include drivers, clinic assistants, lab assistants, as well as clerical and administrative staff across Ontario.
