Sun Rype employees accept contract

They have voted to accept a new contract.

Employees at the Kelowna Sun Rype plant have voted in favour of a new contract and could be returning to work as soon as Monday, according to union representative, Gene Wirch.

“The employees voted 77% in favour of the contract on Saturday morning. We will be informing the company and hopefully we can get back to work as soon as possible,” says Wirch.

He says it will be up to the company to decide how many people will go back to work.

“We are going to return to work, but in what numbers we don’t know, the company will know that based on what their needs may be starting the next working day and going forward. I’m not sure if it’ll be everyone or just a portion, that’ll be their decision.”

Wirch says employees could be back at work as soon as Monday.

“It’s a four-year agreement, with a 12% increase over those four years. It also has pension increases and a severance clause. Overall, everyone is just really relieved to have come to a conclusion.”

The employees at Sun Rype have been on the picket line since early November and had been working without a contract since August of 2006.