Following two weeks of striking and two days of intensive bargaining, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union has reached a tentative agreement with the province's 24 colleges.
The 8,000 workers, who have been on the picket lines since Sept. 1, will be back to work Tuesday morning.
The OPSEU revised its demands -- which previously listed a nine point wage increase over three years -- to reach an agreement late Sunday night.
The OPSEU Local 421 website stated that a three-year contract with the concessions removed, and percentage increases of 1.5, 1.75 and 2, has been implemented.
The union had been seeking a three per cent annual wage increase and job protection against the schools' use of part-time and temporary hires.
OPSEU said it modified its demands to spur negotiations.
"I applaud the tentative deal reached tonight by the negotiating teams," said OPSEU President Warren Thomas in a statement Sunday.
"We said all along that a fair and just agreement was only possible when the two sides could sit across the bargaining table from each other and I'm pleased to report that was the case."
The deal has still to be ratified by college staff members, but students across the province are hoping for a return to normalcy after the rocky start to the school year.
"Students are relieved to know the strike is over, and applaud OPSEU and the Council for reaching an agreement," Brian Costantini, president of the College Student Alliance, said in a statement Monday.
In some colleges, students were worried the strike would compromise courses, particularly those that rely on technology and IT staff, he said.
"It never reached D-Day," he said. "I don't think it will have any long-term effects."
A ratification vote should take place within two weeks, though the colleges said an exact date hasn't been set.
With files from Canadian Press
