An agreement in principle has been reached between the Couillard government and province’s engineers.

The deal, made Thursday evening, avoids the filing of a special law that would have forced them back to work.

The union will submit the offer to its members.

Negotiations resumed Thursday afternoon in Quebec between the Couillard government and engineers, just hours before the deadline imposed by Treasury Board President Pierre Arcand.

The engineers' union, the Association of Professional Engineers of the Government of Quebec (APIGQ), said it was ready to challenge this eventual law because in its view, the government was negotiating in 'bad faith'.

The National Assembly was convened at the request of Premier Philippe Couillard for a special session Thursday night in case negotiations failed.

With files from The Canadian Press