The New Brunswick government and the province's 5,500 nurses have reached a tentative deal, avoiding a possible provincewide strike.

Marilyn Quinn, president of the New Brunswick Nurses Union, said the tentative agreement was struck at 1 a.m. Monday.

The two sides have agreed to withhold specifics of the new contract until a ratification vote is completed, which is expected in the next few weeks.

Quinn said both sides spent about 40 hours negotiating with a mediator this weekend and the end result is a package that will help alleviate some of the concerns of New Brunswick nurses.

"The negotiating committee understood the concerns of nurses. We took those concerns to the negotiating table," Quinn said.

"We believe we have an agreement that will address the working conditions for nurses in this province and start us down the road to make the improvements necessary to recruit and retain nurses."

The union executives will meet with local leaders in Fredericton this Friday to share details of the agreement.

'Hard work and compromise'

Human Resources Minister Rick Brewer said in a statement released Monday afternoon the deal came about through "hard work and compromise on both sides."

"I believe that we have successfully addressed the concerns expressed by nurses while respecting the fact that we are facing difficult economic times," Brewer said in a statement.

Nurses rejected an earlier agreement in September and were in a legal strike position. Negotiations have been underway during the past two weeks.

Union and government negotiators were joined in mid-December by a special mediator, University of New Brunswick law professor John McEvoy. The nurses voted 94 per cent in favour of strike action in December.

The sticking point with the provincial government had been compensation for nurses working long overtime shifts and weekends. Quinn has said in the past that these long shifts are causing some nurses to quit or leave the province.

The latest offer from the provincial government was a three-year deal worth $91.6 million with an 11.5 per cent pay increase.