VIA Rail reached tentative agreements with Unifor just ahead of a late night strike deadline. The union represents approximately 2,400 VIA Rail employees working in its stations, on board its trains, in its maintenance centres, the VIA Customer Centre, and administrative offices.

The tentative agreements are subject to a ratification vote by VIA Rail’s Unifor members. Once ratified, the collective agreements will be retroactive to January 1, 2022 and in effect through December 31, 2024. Details of the agreements will only be released following ratification by members.

In a statement VIA RAIL said, “VIA Rail is pleased to have negotiated these agreements and recognizes the hard work of both parties during this process,” said Martin R Landry, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We sympathize with the passengers and communities whose plans have been impacted in the past couple of days due to the uncertainty caused by this potential strike. As we look forward to ratification, these tentative agreements allow our teams to get back to doing what we do best: serving Canadians throughout the country.”