Labour dispute ends at Journal de Montreal

After a 764-day lockout, unionized workers at the Journal de Montreal newspaper voted 64.1% in favour of their employer's latest offer on Saturday. Quebecor, which owns Sun Media newspapers and the QMI Agency newswire, locked out 253 unionized employees at the Journal de Montreal on Jan 24, 2009, including reporters, editors, photographers and office workers. The union's bargaining committee asked its members to abide by a mediator's decision on whether to accept Quebecor's latest offer. As a part of the new deal, 60 of the 253 locked-out workers can return to their jobs at the newspaper, while $20 million in severance pay will be divided amongst the rest.