About 30 Unifor union workers that had been on strike at a Navistar Canada Inc. warehouse in Hamilton have ratified a new deal that closes the gap between the wages of old and younger workers.

The workers voted Thursday to ratify the new deal, which avoided the setting up of a third lower-paid tier of wages, and considerably closed the gap between the existing two tiers at the warehouse.

"This is a good agreement that means young and older workers alike will be paid more fairly," said Dave Reston, president of Unifor Local 504.

"Our members stood up for their rights and the rights of the next generation of workers."

The union went on strike Sept. 29 in a dispute over tiered wages, which the big union has been fighting for years.

In 2012, Unifor agreed to extend the collective agreement – which included a two-tiered wage structure — by 18 months as the company relocated its eastern Canadian parts warehouse from Burlington to its current location in the Hannon district of Hamilton.

Navistar, formerly International Truck and Engine Corp., makes parts for commercial trucks, buses and military vehicles. The Hannon warehouse supplies International and IC Bus vehicles, MaxxForce diesel engines and all types of commercial trucks.

Two-tier wages see new hires paid permanently less than established employees; automakers have favoured it as a way to control labour costs. Unifor has fought against the policy at the Detroit Three plants in Canada after it was brought in at some U.S. plants following the 2008 recession, although it has accepted contracts for new hires for whom wages take longer to hit the top rate.

Navistar idled a truck-making plant in Chatham in 2009 and closed it for good two years later in part because the company couldn't reach a collective agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers, one of Unifor's predecessor unions.

At its peak in the late 1990s, the factory employed more than 2,000 workers.

Unifor is Canada's largest union in the private sector, with more than 305,000 members. It was formed more than a year ago from the merger of the CAW and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union.

Seen: Unifor workers at Navistar parts plant ratify new deal

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