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Qulliq Energy workers' union, Nunavut gov't ratify new contract

Both the Nunavut government and the Nunavut Employees Union have now ratified a new collective agreement for workers at the Qulliq Energy Corporation ending a three-week long strike.

Workers get 2% raise in first year of new 3-year collective agreement

Qulliq Energy Corporation workers went on strike July 16. Both the workers' union and the Nunavut government have now ratified a new collective agreement. (Sima Sahar Zerehi/CBC)

Both the Nunavut government and the Nunavut Employees Union have now ratified a new collective agreement for workers at the Qulliq Energy Corp. ending a three-week long strike.

Peter Tumilty, president of Qulliq Energy Corporation, says moving the power plant to a new site could cost millions. (Sima Sahar Zerehi/CBC)

A tentative deal was reached Aug. 11. QEC employees, who provide mechanical, electrical and line maintenance for power facilities in Nunavut, went on strike July 16. They had been without a contract since Dec. 31, 2013.

​The Nunavut Employees Union ratified the agreement on Friday; the Government of Nunavut ratified it today.

The three-year deal includes pay raises of two per cent in the first year and 1.5 per cent in the second and third years.

"QEC extends our gratitude to all our customers for their patience and understanding during the strike," said Qulliq Energy Corp. president Peter Tumilty in a news release.