City of Toronto and outside workers move closer to strike or lockout

Thestar.com
February 4, 2020
David Rider

Contract talks between the city of Toronto and more than 5,000 of its outside workers have broken down, making a strike or lockout possible this month.

On Monday, the city asked Ontario’s Ministry of Labour to issue a “no-board report.” The move signals that a provincial conciliator was unable to find enough common ground for the two sides to agree to a new four-year contract, so no “board of conciliation” is required.

Seventeen days after the ministry issues a no-board report, which is usually within days of a request, the city could lock out the CUPE Local 416 members, who would also be in a legal strike position. If the report is issued this week, that would make a work stoppage possible as early as late February.

The pressure could, however, compel them to return to bargaining and strike a deal to replace the contract that ended Dec. 31. There is nothing to stop the two sides, which began talks last fall, from staying on the job and at the negotiating table after the 17-day countdown.

Local 416 members include garbage and recycling collectors for districts east of Yonge St., animal control officers, parks staff, and transportation department workers who work on snow clearing. Garbage collection west of Yonge St., which is privatized, would be unaffected by a Local 416 work stoppage.

The city said in a news release that it made the request after five straight days of bargaining ended without agreement on issues including job security, wages, benefits and parental leave. A “number of issues” were resolved with help from the conciliator.

“The city of Toronto remains committed to negotiating a collective agreement that is fair and affordable and will continue to engage with the union to achieve that goal,” the city said.

In an email, Local 416 said outside workers “remain committed to negotiating a fair contract that protects city services as the city of Toronto tries to pave the way for privatization and contracting out of services.

“The city wants a contract that creates two-tiered job security provisions, and paves the way for privatization and contracting out of services that the people of Toronto rely on,” Local 416 president Eddie Mariconda said in the statement.

“All along we have been reasonable in trying a deal that protects services and respects the work our members do. Our proposals are affordable and sustainable, which is what the city claims they want.”

The union has begun strike preparations but “we’re not the ones who walked away from the table,” Mariconda said. “We are available to negotiate 24/7.”

In 2011 and 2016, the city signed contracts with Local 416 and CUPE Local 79 -- which represents more than 20,000 inside city workers -- that rolled back some benefits and hiked wages less than the cost of inflation.

The city continues to negotiate with CUPE Local 79, whose members include planners, child-care workers and recreation staff. Their contract also expired Dec. 31, as did that of Toronto Public Library workers in CUPE Local 4948.