HOUSTON, June 3 (Reuters) - Striking union workers at ajoint BP Plc and Husky Energy refinery inToledo, Ohio ratified a new contract on Wednesday and are due toreturn to work on Monday, four months after walking off theirjobs, a refinery official said.
Negotiators for the United Steelworkers union (USW) Local1-346 and the refinery's management agreed to a tentativecontract on Saturday, three days after the strikers offered toreturn to their jobs while continuing bargaining.
During the work stoppage by 350 union members, temporaryreplacement workers have kept the 135,000 barrel per day (bpd)refinery in operation.
The Toledo refinery is one of 15 plants where workers walkedoff their jobs in February after talks between the USWInternational union and U.S. refinery owners for a new nationalagreement broke down.
Workers at most of the other plants returned to their jobsafter a national agreement was reached in March. Strikes at afew locations continued due to disagreements over local issues.
"Our return to work agreement ensures the safe and orderlytransition of the hourly workforce back into the refinery," saidJeff Steigauf, the refinery's personnel manager. "This processwill take several weeks, and it is our desire to return tonormal operations by the end of June."
A USW spokesman said she had no information about the voteon Wednesday night.
Details of the contract were not disclosed by refinerymanagement.
Workers remain on strike at only one refinery, MarathonPetroleum Corp's Galveston Bay plant in Texas City,Texas.
(Reporting by Erwin Seba; Editing by Richard Pullin)