Striking Hudson’s Bay Toronto warehouse workers reach tentative agreement: union

Workers at a warehouse that delivers online orders for Hudson’s Bay in Toronto have reached a tentative agreement to end strike action.

In an announcement, Unifor Local 40, the union representing the workers, said the tentative agreement would be put to a vote on Thursday.

Numbering more than 330 people, the workers began strike action on June 22.

The union said negotiations broke down over retroactive pay requests for time worked during the pandemic when unionized staff were without a collective agreement.

The warehouse is part of the Hudson’s Bay Company, fulfilling orders from its website known online as The Bay. The union said workers process orders from across the country.

“I congratulate the bargaining committee on reaching a tentative agreement for these workers, primarily women with the majority being newcomers, who literally carried The Bay through the pandemic,” Unifor Ontario regional director Naureen Rizvi said in a statement.

Hudson’s Bay was not immediately available for comment.

Unifor represents around 315,000 workers in a range of industries across the country, including some at Global News.