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Health-care workers in Prince Edward County reach tentative agreement with public health unit

Workers holding picket signs outside of the Hastings Prince Edward Public Health office in Belleville, Ont. are seen in this undated photo. (CUPE Local 3314/cupe.ca) Workers holding picket signs outside of the Hastings Prince Edward Public Health office in Belleville, Ont. are seen in this undated photo. (CUPE Local 3314/cupe.ca)

The union representing front-line health-care workers in Hastings and Prince Edward counties says it has reached a tentative agreement with the local public health unit after a 10-day strike.

In a news release, CUPE Local 3314 said workers have a tentative deal with Hastings Prince Edward Public Health. A ratification vote is scheduled for Tuesday.

The workers include public health inspectors, a Smoke-Free Ontario (SFO) enforcement officer, certified dental assistants, registered dental hygienists, a family home visitor, registered dieticians, health promoters, a foundational standards specialist who tracks vital statistics, a communications coordinator, a building maintenance operator, information technology staff, and program assistants who provide professional clerical support. They work in Belleville, Quinte West, Hastings County and Prince Edward County.

"I'm pleased we were able to finally negotiate an agreement that respects the vital care work frontline public health workers do and brings us a bit closer to meeting the rising cost of living due to high inflation," said Kim Craig, a public health inspector and the president of CUPE Local 3314 in the release. "But my coworkers and I are frustrated that it took 10 days of us withdrawing our labour for Hastings Prince Edward Public Health management to get here."

The strike began Sept. 22. The Hastings Prince Edward Public Health unit said its Belleville, Ont. office was closed during the strike, with some exceptions, and that some services would be disrupted.

The agreement comes just days after nurses represented by the Ontario Nurses Association ratified a new agreement after being on strike for six weeks.

The union says picket signs will come down and workers will be back on the job Wednesday if they vote to accept the agreement.

In an update posted on its website on Sunday, the health unit announced the agreement reached with nurses, but said services would not fully resume until the CUPE strike was resolved.

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