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April 12 (Reuters) - Workers at JBS Z98.F ratified a tentative two-year agreement with the world's largest meat company, covering nearly 3,800 workers at the JBS flagship beef processing plant in Greeley, Colorado, according to statements from both the union and the company on Sunday.
The agreement with the workers, represented by United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 (UCFW Local 7) and JBS, came as the two returned for a round of talks on April 9-10 after a month of strikes to press for wages that reflect inflation and a halt to company charges for replacing protective equipment.
The new agreement, which JBS says is unchanged from its last offer, secures an almost 33% wage increase over the next 2 years, protects workers from having to pay for personal protective equipment, and safeguards them against increases in healthcare costs, according to Local 7.
While the meatpacker said it was pleased with the agreement reached, it "expressed disappointment that UFCW Local 7 leadership chose to eliminate the historic pension benefit that was part of the national agreement negotiated last year in partnership with UFCW International", according to the company's statement.
As part of the agreement, the union is also withdrawing seven alleged unfair labor practice (ULP) charges against JBS, the company said.
Beef prices set records this year after the nation's cattle supply dropped to a 75-year low, leading meatpackers such as JBS to buy cattle to slaughter, even as they benefited from the rising prices.
The strike at JBS dealt a blow to U.S. processing capacity, after Tyson Foods TSN.N closed a beef plant in Nebraska this year and reduced operations at a Texas facility.
(Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
((Chandni.shah@thomsonreuters.com;))
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