I’m very happy to report that the nearly year-long strike at Labatt Breweries in St. John’s, NL, which I wrote about a few weeks ago, has ended.

The company and the union returned to collective bargaining with the aid of a conciliation officer, and the resulting collective agreement has been ratified by the 45 striking workers. The new collective agreement will last until 2020, and the boycott of Labatt’s products in support of the striking workers has also ended.

Congratulations to the strikers for their determination and persistence!

Now let’s hope for a similar positive outcome for the striking workers at IKEA in Richmond, British Columbia, who went on strike a month after the Labatt’s workers – and are still on the picket lines. That strike, like the Labatt’s strike, has attracted international condemnation -and if a wealthy multinational corporation like Labatt can reach a satisfactory collective agreement with its workers, surely IKEA should be able to do the same.