BP Plc and the union representing striking workers at the British firm's Whiting, Indiana, oil refinery have reached an agreement setting the terms for them to return to work as soon as May 18 following a three-month strike.

Union officials said a ratification vote is scheduled for Monday on the tentative four-year contract, agreed on May 1 by negotiators for BP and the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 7-1. Striking workers have been walking the picket lines since Feb. 8.

Workers at the Whiting refinery went on strike as part of the largest work stoppage by refinery and chemical plant workers in 35 years, involving 15 plants which included 12 refineries accounting for one-fifth of U.S. capacity.

The national strike began after talks broke down between negotiators for the USW International union and U.S. refinery owners over tighter standards to prevent worker fatigue and the use of contractors in day-to-day plant maintenance.

An agreement was reached on March 12 on national issues including pay, benefits and the fatigue and contractor issues, but strikes continued over local issues at the Whiting refinery and others.

The major sticking point at Whiting was over the union's right to bargain under the contract over policies such as those that affect worker safety at the refinery.

"We look forward to having all our Whiting employees back to work soon and building on the success we had achieved prior to the strike," Refinery Manager Jorge Lanza said in BP's statement.

Striking workers are ready to return to work, said Bob Lofton, USW international representative working with Local 7-1.

"It's been a long three months," Lofton said. "We'll get back into the refinery, and hopefully, within two to three weeks things will get back to normal."

Workers who carried out a three-month strike at Lyondell Basell Industries' Houston refinery are also scheduled to begin returning to work on May 18, a union official said on Saturday.

Workers are still on strike at a refinery in Toledo, Ohio, which is owned by BP and Husky Energy.

Negotiations also are continuing between striking workers and Marathon Petroleum Corp's Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas.

BP has kept the refinery in operation with temporary replacement workers while the 1,100 union members have been on strike. An undisclosed number of workers did cross the picket line during the strike, BP and the union have said.

Source: www.reuters.com

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