The City of Toronto and the union representing its outside workers signed a collective bargaining agreement Thursday just days after the two sides reached a tentative agreement.
The agreement which was reached in the early hours on Feb. 5 and finalized Thursday afternoon averted a strike that would have seen many of the city's services brought to a standstill.
Members of Local 416 are set to ratify the agreement on Monday, Feb. 13.
Union president Mark Ferguson recommended that his members vote in favour of the deal, noting "the exceptional circumstances in this round of bargaining."
Mayor Rob Ford told CP24's Stephen LeDrew that he feels the deal is "fair."
"I can't get into the information, but I want to thank Mark Ferguson for sitting down and negotiating a deal with us. It's very fair for the taxpayers and for the membership and the union and the frontline workers. Hopefully they will ratify it on Monday and then council ratifies."
But at least one group of workers said they would scrutinize the pact carefully before making a decision.
"I think you will get a lot of paramedics out to vote. They know this is a hugely important contract for us and we stand to lose a lot," Roberta Scott, vice-president of the Ontario Paramedic Association, told CP24. "If we look at this contract Monday morning and we are not happy with it, we will take a stand and vote against it … We are definitely going to make our feelings known to the union if it turns out to be a bad contract."
Ford said once the deal is completed with CUPE 416, the city would turn its attention to two other unions including the city's library workers.
