The Canadian Media Guild has given its stamp of approval to a new five-year deal with CBC/Radio-Canada after unionized employees earlier this week overwhelmingly ratified a new contract.

The current agreement expires next month. The deal is the first in a decade from the Ceeb that was reached without a strike or a lockout, and stands in sharp contrast to the eight-week walkout in 2005.

The contract was negotiated over seven weeks in November and December and includes a 1.5% wage increase in each year. Other key issues during the talks were employee workload, job security, and training and career development.

‘In my 28 years in the union at CBC/Radio-Canada, this round of negotiations stands out and I am very proud of our new partnership,’ commented Marc-Philippe Laurin, president of the Guild’s CBC/Radio-Canada branch, in a release.

The contract will expire in 2014. The union represents 5,500 members including producers, directors, technicians and on-air talent.