"Praise the lord, I love my Carib, I love my Stag" was the reaction of one drinker to the news that the stalemate in a labour dispute at one of the Caribbean's largest breweries was finally over. Relations between the National Union of Government and Federated Workers and Carib Brewery management in Trinidad and Tobago broke down just over two months ago over agreement on a new contract. At that point, the company, fearing that its plant could be damaged, locked its doors to 875 workers. While employees and management at the brewery have not reached agreement on a new contract, the two sides have agreed worked out a deal that will see employees to return to work on Friday and resume wage talks after the nine week standoff. Colin Murray, corporate communications manager for Carib said he was glad progress had been made on the issue. "We all wanted things to end from a company standpoint. It was an unfortunate disagreement but like all things you’ve got to agree to disagree," Mr Murray said. Robert Giuseppi, representative for the workers said the issue boiled down to a matter of respect and said his members are pleased to be returning to work. "The workers have lost much income because of the lock out. So this is where we are at now and we're hoping that we have a good review of the past two months and we’re hoping that this review will be done in a positive nature where we can carry on negotiations in a better and a more peaceful and mature industrial relations climate," Mr Giuseppi said. When talks resume there are a number of areas to be settled. According to the Associated Press news agency, the company has proposed a 12% salary increase while workers want a 17% increase. The company has also said it wants to do blood tests on workers it suspects have been drinking on the job - something the union objects to. And the unions are also arguing that the workers should be paid for the time they were locked out of the brewery. That matter will be decided by Trinidad’s Industrial Court. Carib estimates it has lost between TT$4-6 million during the dispute. The company says it hopes to resume fully operational production within a week. The news that Carib and Stag will be back on the shelves has been welcomed by consumers some of whom have been paying between 8-10 TT dollars for foreign brews. "Drinking other beers meant drinking less because I wasn’t accustomed to the taste of the other beers," said one consumer in St. James. SOURCE: BBCCARIBBEAN.COM