Potential workers strike averted in Tofino, B.C.

Beaches on the west coast of Vancouver Island, near Tofino and Ucluelet, B.C. (iStock)

A workers strike in the popular tourism town of Tofino, B.C., was avoided this week after union workers reached an agreement with the municipality.

On June 9, members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 118 voted in favour of striking if a deal could not be reached with the district at their next scheduled meeting with the municipality on June 27 and 28.

On Wednesday morning, Cupe 118 president Stacy Watton told CTV News that mediation was successful this week and that the union and municipality were able to reach a mutually fair agreement.

Union membership will now vote on the tentative agreement in the week of July 13, according to Watton.

Union members in Tofino are involved in a variety of fields, including child care and pre-school education, municipal administration, parks and recreation, water and utilities, building inspection, infrastructure maintenance, planning, and bylaw enforcement and protective services.

A similar union strike that would've affected the B.C. government was also recently averted.

Last week, the BC General Employee's Union announced the results of its largest ever strike vote, with 33,000 members who work in public service participating.

An overwhelming 94.6 per cent of voters said they approved of a strike to reach a new deal, but the job action was avoided after employers offered to resume negotiations Monday.