Rogers Sugar Inc., union reach tentative agreement after months-long strike

A sign is put up on Rogers Sugar shelves at a grocery store in Vancouver, on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

A tentative agreement has been reached between Rogers Sugar Inc. and the union representing Vancouver refinery workers who have been on strike since late September, the company announced Friday.

Rogers Sugar said it reached a memorandum of agreement with Public and Private Workers of Canada Local 8, adding the agreement is subject to a ratification vote. That vote will be held next week.

Workers at the Vancouver refinery have been on strike since Sept. 28, citing issues like wages, benefits and the company's push for around-the-clock operations.

In mid-December, negotiations were paused between the two parties when the company said its latest offer was rejected.

The Vancouver refinery is one of three large sugar refineries that processes imported cane sugar in Canada.

Early in the strike, shoppers faced sugar supply shortages at local grocery stores. But in December, the company said white sugar supply had increased and brown sugar production was restarted at the Vancouver refinery.

With files from The Canadian Press