MONTREAL - Quebecor said it is "deeply disappointed" that locked-out employees at the Journal de Montreal have voted 89.3 per cent against the latest agreement.

The 253 members of the reporting and office staff, who are unionized by the Syndicat des travailleurs de l'information du Journal de Montréal, were locked out Jan. 24, 2009 after a contract dispute over salary, benefits and media convergence.

Quebecor offered to keep 50 out of the 253 positions, or one in five jobs. Management sought to keep 17 journalists, including five in the sports section, five in arts, and seven in news. Sixty-five journalists worked at the Journal de Montreal before the lockout began.

The employer asked for the right to choose which employees remain in office, said the report.

"The newspaper remains convinced it was an honourable settlement, and satisfactory to both parties… allocating $ 20 million to be shared among the 130 regular employees whose positions were abolished... (That's) about a 33 per cent improvement over bids previously proposed," the publisher said in a statement Tuesday evening.

The workers disagreed.

"It's an insult not only to us but to all readers of the Journal de Montreal," said union president Raynald Leblanc in a statement.

Quebecor also reportedly demanded that before paying a severance package to workers made redundant, website Ruefrontenac.com would be forced to close for a period of time following the settlement.

Ruefrontenac.com is a French-language news website produced by the locked-out Journal de Montreal employees.