Montreal’s La Presse has reached an agreement-in-principle with half of its eight unions, although a shutdown threat still looms over the newspaper.
North America’s biggest French-language broadsheet is threatening to close its doors Dec. 1 unless it reaches contract deals with its unions.
The paper announced Wednesday it has reached an agreement with four of its unions, representing one-third of its employees.
Publisher Guy Crevier wrote a public letter last week warning that La Presse is in dire financial straits. He also demanded a variety of concessions including an end to four-day work weeks.
La Presse is owned by Gesca Ltee, a wholly owned division of Power Corp.
Details of the agreement with the four unions were not made public.
Media-watchers have applauded the newspaper for its dedication to investigative reporting and warned its shutdown would be a loss for Canadian journalism.
