Quebec's largest nursing union reached a tentative deal with the province over the weekend, bringing an end to a year of tense negotiations.

Quebec nurses will receive wage increases for regular and extra shift work as part of the tentative deal reached with the government on Sunday. (CBC) More than 58,000 nurses will vote later this month on the agreement in principle that was reached Sunday between the Quebec government and the Fédération interprofessionelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ).

The new contract, if approved, would give nurses a two per cent wage hike, in addition to a 3.45 per cent wage increase when they have to stay late to hand off patient information to the next nurse on duty.

The province also promised to reduce the use of private nursing agencies.

Federation president Michèle Boisclair said she is happy with the deal, despite having to make compromises. She compared the negotiating process to making up a Christmas wish list.

"You ask 50 toys and you get 10 of them, but you have 10 more than you had before. If we make the comparison of what we had ... and what we will get, it's a huge increase," she said.

Talks picked up in recent months

The nurses were the last public sector union to reach an agreement with the provincial government. The negotiations had been going on for more than a year.

Boisclair said the tone of negotiations changed after Michelle Courchesne was appointed Treasury Board president in the summer. Courchesne had the "political will" to get the job done, she said.

'We're very happy we have a good result.'— Yves Bolduc, Quebec Health minister

Although the nurses said they decided to hold out in order to get a better deal, Health Minister Yves Bolduc said it doesn't necessarily mean they received a better deal than other public sector workers.

"For the nurses, they wanted to discuss a few points to improve their condition. This is what was done. We're very happy we have a good result," he said.

The existing contract expired on March 31.

The agreement in principle will be presented to union delegates on Thursday and Friday, and to the nurses themselves later this month.