The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Tom Marshall, Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board:

Tentative Agreement Reached for Burin-Marystown Support Workers

I am very pleased to stand and report to this Honourable House this afternoon that a tentative agreement was successfully reached earlier today between the Burin-Marystown Community Training and Employment Board and the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees.

The process of achieving this successful outcome took time, patience and commitment on the part of the parties, as all negotiations do. However, I want to emphasize that without that strong commitment, and a sincere desire from the parties to work toward and find a fair and mutually acceptable agreement, a resolution could not have been reached.

I want to commend our Premier for her leadership in seeing this issue resolved.

I understand that NAPE will be bringing the tentative agreement forward for ratification in the immediate future. I want to thank President Carol Furlong of NAPE and the union�s negotiators for their ongoing cooperation, dedication and flexibility in realizing an agreement that is satisfactory to both their members and the employer.

I would also like to acknowledge the work of the team who lead the negotiations on behalf of the employer.

Most importantly, to the people who were most affected by this process from the start � the approximately 14 support workers, and, of course, the individuals, and their families, who rely so heavily on the very important services they provide � I want to thank them sincerely for their patience and understanding during the prolonged period of interruption.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge, along with the Premier, my colleagues, the ministers of Fisheries and Education, for the advice and assistance they provided throughout this process, which was vital in enabling us to announce this successful conclusion.

With this tentative agreement, we are hopeful that an end to the strike on the Burin Peninsula is very near, which is something we all look forward to seeing.

2010 12 08                                                      2:20 p.m.