The 13-month lockout by Petro-Canada of 260 refinery workers in Montréal, Quebec, likely will end tomorrow when unionized members of Communications, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Local 175 vote on a new collective agreement.

Since 2 December, the union and management of Canada’s second largest oil company have been engaged in private mediation with Special Mediator Lucien Bouchard, who served as Premier of Quebec Province in Canada from 119 to 2001. That mediation apparently has paid off. The two sides agreed to a tentative agreement late last week.

CEP Local 175 will ballot members tomorrow evening, 23 December.

The union is not releasing terms of the proposed contract until members vote on it, but CEP Local 175 is recommending the proposal for acceptance to membership. CEP Representative Daniel Cloutier said the union’s bargaining committee “is glad to submit the proposal to the membership,” and he predicted it would be accepted.

Petro-Canada locked out workers at the 130,000 barrels-per-day refinery on 17 November 2007. The company was attempting to break from the collective bargaining pattern of the CEP’s National Energy and Chemical Bargaining Programme, ironically negotiated first between the union and Petro-Canada at an oil refinery in Edmonton, Alberta, in spring 2007.