MORE than 100 maintenance workers at a Merseyside social housing provider have ended their strike after agreeing a deal over safe working with asbestos, Unite announced today.

The workers, employed by Magenta Living on the Wirral, first downed tools in February following a change to the organisation’s asbestos policy that compelled them to handle the deadly substance if they came across it in a property.

But the union said the new agreement makes it clear that staff who have opted out will not be forced to undertake essential tasks with the dangerous material, which can cause cancer.