Toronto city worker contract talks set to begin
City’s employee and labor relations committe voted Friday to give negotiators a mandate to begin bargaining.

thestar.com
Oct. 9, 2015
By Betsy Powell

The city’s employee and labor relations committee has given its negotiators a mandate to begin bargaining with unions representing 28,000 civic employees whose contracts expire at the end of the year.

“We’re looking for a fair and reasonable deal,” that recognizes the financial challenges faced by the city, Deputy Mayor Denzil Minnan-Wong, the committee chair, said Friday after the committee held an in-camera session.

Minnan-Wong said costs for wages and benefits - which cost about $1.75 billion annually - “are some of the most generous around, and we believe there should be a recognition of that.” He would not discuss the city’s bargaining position.

That average cost of a city employee is about $85,000, he said. “That’s a significant sum of money and...I think it’s a valid question about whether that’s sustainable or not.”

Salaries have increased about 32 per cent since 2006, he noted. “I don’t think we’ve seen that in the private sector.”

“We’re hoping the city is prepared to negotiate a fair collective agreement, (one that is) reasonable, that reflects both the needs of our members and the needs of Toronto’s communities for the services to be provided,” CUPE Local 79 President Tim Maguire said Friday.

Maguire said the $85,000 figure, cited by Minnan-Wong, “makes it seem as if that’s the salary of average city worker but it’s not - that’s far in excess of the average city worker, there’s wages, There’s benefits there’s other costs.”

Many city employees are now doing part-Time work under precarious conditions, “without sufficient stable and predictable employment circumstances,” he added.

Four years ago, the unions gave up significant job security provisions, as well as reductions in benefits and received about a six per cent wage increase over the term.

City negotiators will bargain with representatives of CUPE Local 79, TCEU Local 416, 5,400 and CUPE Local 2998. Contract talks are expected to begin later this month.

Earlier this year, Maguire warned about “big problems” in 2016 budget proposals with Mayor John Tory proposing an across-the-board 2 per cent cut to city services.