Bloomberg reported that Gerdau SA strikers at a mill in Canada have accepted a labor contract from Latin America's biggest steelmaker, ending a 7 month strike and strikers will return to work on January 4th 2010.

Mr Tom Walsh United Steelworkers regional coordinator said that a new offer from Gerdau was approved by 56% of unionized workers at the Cambridge construction steel mill in Ontario. He added that the new contract is a 3 year accord retroactive to May 16th 2009.

It may be noted that the 190 workers at the Cambridge mill went on strike on May 16th 2009 after rejecting a Gerdau offer that included a contribution based pension plan for new hires to replace set benefits. Management has kept the mill partially operating since then.

Mr Walsh said that "The company withdrew their proposal on two tier wages but the defined contribution pension plan for new hires remained on the table and was accepted by the union. Most people thought it was better to get back to work after seven months as there was some financial hardship."

(Sourced from www.bloomberg.net)