It’s Official CUPE 416 and 79 Are On Strike
Toronto’s municipal workers walked off the job today after the City and union representatives failed to reach a mutually acceptable agreement.
An agreement is being upheld by the City’s insistence to address the issue of sick pay benefits in this round of negotiation, something the unions have flatly refused and a disagreement over wage increases.
Residents of Toronto need to know that their Councillors were all given a 2.5% pay increase this year, and the Mayor refused to allow a motion to rescind the increase. Residents should know that four of the seven members of the the Labour Relations Committee – representing the City at the bargaining table took the increase. Union officials have suggested they are looking for an increase in the neighbourhood of 3%.
The City is refusing to budge on the ‘bankability’ of sick pay benefits. I recognize their point that this is a fairly unique thing, but each and every Councillor who is in fact hired for a contract receives severance at the rate of one month for every year served and six of seven members of the City’s Labour Relations Committee are already entitled to a full years pay at retirement (and growing).
Torontonians have been subjected to a strike by a fumbling Council that has once again missed the boat on a major issue and left residents to suffer. The deal Councillors wrote for themselves is far better than what workers are asking for, and let’s face it, City workers work a hell of a lot harder and do a lot more good than the majority of the folks who’ve turned being a Councillor from being a public service into a career choice.
The City missed an opportunity to pull back from the brinkmanship and give the unions an out. I get that the City doesn’t want to budge on the issue of sick leave benefits, but forcing a strike over this isn’t going to get them anywhere. No Arbitrator in the world is going to take this benefit away on their behalf and their only hope of changing it is negotiation.
What’s clear is this round of talks won’t see a resolution, arbitration won’t solve this, and they will have to wait for another collective agreement to re-open this file anyways. At the end of the day, we’ll see a strike, and the sick pay issue will see the status quo prevail for another three years anyways.
Tags: City of Toronto, City of Toronto Garbage Strike, City of Toronto Sick Benefits, City of Toronto Strike, City of Toronto Strike Update, City Unions, CUPE 416, CUPE 416 Strike, CUPE 79, CUPE 79 Strike, Labour Relations Committee - City of Toronto, Municipal Strike Toronto, Sick Benefits, Sick Pay benefits Toronto, Strike, Toronto Strike
June 22nd, 2009 at 4:59 am
Hi. I am a long time reader. I wanted to say that I like your blog and the layout.
Peter Quinn
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:54 am
How many city counsellors are there? How many garbageman are there? Is it not a little harder (schooling wise etc.) to become councilman?
How can you possibly blame the council when they are doing the EXACT same thing as the city workers? They are all greedy and because they work in government they can make way more money than they should. I feel the ones who ascend to the highest positions should at least keep those at the lower end in check.