OTTAWA - Air Canada and its striking workers reached a tentative contract deal Thursday shortly after the federal government introduced back-to-work legislation seeking to force the customer service agents back to their posts.

Travelers have seen only minor delays but no major disruptions since 3,800 customer service agents and other staff walked off the job Tuesday.

Related readings:  Canadian govt to end postal strike by law  A 36-hour strike starts amid tight security in Bangladesh  Police break up Indian yoga guru's hunger strike  Protesters take over finance ministry in Athens

But Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the federal government had little choice but to introduce legislation to order the striking employees back to work, saying it risked serious damage to the economy.

The deal was reached after the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) met with representatives of the airline Thursday morning. The workers will still have to vote to ratify the deal.

One of the key stumbling block to getting an agreement was the issue of pensions. Air Canada wants new hires to be included in a defined-contribution plan instead of the defined-benefit, or traditional pension plan that current employees have.

CAW president Ken Lewenza said the pension issue will go to arbitration.

Lewenza criticized the Harper government for interfering in the talks when Air Canada itself said there was little disruption because of the strike.

Meanwhile, the Harper government is also preparing back-to-work legislation for Canada Post, setting the stage for a resumption of mail service as early as next week. Postal workers started rotating walkouts almost two weeks ago and the government-owned corporation Canada Post locked out its 48,000 unionized workers early Wednesday.

Opposition parties have pledged to fight the back to work legislation, but the Conservative government won re-election in May with the majority of seats in Parliament and can pass bills without the support of the opposition.

Opposition Liberal Leader Bob Rae likened the government's actions to a "sledgehammer" approach to labor relations.

NDP Leader Jack Layton accused the government of picking sides in the dispute, in favor of management.