The seven members of the Service Employees International Union Local 1.on ratified a new three year agreement with the Peterborough Humane Society on the weekend.

The members on strike since April 6th were able to turn back concessions the Humane Society wanted.

Improvements to the new collective agreement include:

The employees gained a 2½ percent wage increase in each year of agreement. Full-time employees get a $300 signing bonus and part-time employees get $150 signing bonus.

The Humane Society will also top up Employment Insurance 15 week sick leave provision to 100 per cent of an employee's salary.

A new boot allowance of $65 per year was also won.

The new contract expires December 31, 2006.

"We are extremely proud of our members. They stood up for a core trade union principle of not accepting any concessions," union representative Don Burshaw said.

SEIU Local 1.on members also want to express their thanks to the solidarity all union members in the Peterborough area displayed during the strike.

SEIU Local 1.on is a 40,000 member province wide local union affiliated to the larges union in North America - the 1.6 million member Service Employees International Union.