After 14 months of negotiations and 10 weeks on strike, the rotating strike at LifeLabs is finally officially over.

In a press release, the B.C. General Employees鈥� Union, which represents about 1,200 LifeLab workers at 100 centres that offer laboratory testing services across the province, said mediator Mark Brown has given his binding recommendations for a settlement with the employer that will make up LifeLabs workers' new collective agreement, now in effect until March 31, 2027.

The workers actually went back to their jobs on April 26 following mediation in which both parties agreed to accept the binding recommendations and signed a return-to-work agreement.

The union said workers won wage increases ranging from 11.3 per cent to 20 per cent over three years.

This puts them at parity in the second year of the new contract with the current wages of their counterparts in the public sector.

The union said critical changes to address workload and overtime issues were also won, while concessions LifeLabs wanted workers to take for sick pay were taken off the table.

鈥淟ifeLabs workers have improved their collective agreement following mediation that imposed binding recommendations on their employer,鈥� said Paul Finch, BCGEU president.

鈥淲e thank Mark Brown for his work in helping to reach a resolution. However (Quest Diagnostics, the American owner of LifeLabs) and LifeLabs鈥� inability to reach an agreement at the bargaining table clearly reflects their prioritization of profit over the well-being of workers and patients. This underscores the need to transition B.C.鈥檚 diagnostic services into the public system.鈥�

When the strike began, the union said the company had refused to bring workers鈥� wages and benefits in line with the cost of living, and failed to address poor working conditions resulting from chronic under staffing.

The dispute had also brought LifeLabs鈥� new American ownership, and concerns about B.C.鈥檚 public health dollars going towards U.S. corporate profits, into the spotlight.