WHITEWATER REGION - A five-week strike at Haley Industries ended Thursday with 380 employees returning to work after accepting a new collective agreement.

Picket lines had been manned outside the plant on Magnesium Road in Haley Station since April 3 after the union's membership voted 96 per cent to walk off the job.

A new three-year collective bargaining agreement, ratified by union members on Wednesday, will provide workers with a total wage increase of 82 cents an hour.

"This was tough bargaining, but in the end we were able to obtain a fair collective agreement," Mike Byers, president of United Steelworkers Local 4820, said in a statement. "By sticking together and supporting our union, our members have achieved solid improvements in working conditions."

The new agreement was negotiated with the assistance of provincial mediator Tony Harte. Officials at Haley Industries, a magnesium and aluminum castings company now owned by Magellan Aerospace, could not be reached for comment at press time.

Union representatives said the new contract includes a new long-term-disability plan, improved health-care benefits and conversion of the former pension plan to the Steelworkers Pension Plan. According to the union, the Steelworkers Pension Plan is a multi-employer, union-administered plan that will provide a greater pension for workers and more financial stability for the employer.

Before the walkout, negotiations had been ongoing since December to come up with a new contract which expired on March 15. The main issues had revolved around wages and pensions.

Sean Chase is a Daily Observer multimedia journalist