Negotiations between city, outdoor employees’ union hit impasse

Negotiations between the City of Toronto and the union representing outdoor municipal employees have hit an impasse, possibly leading to a work stoppage in February.

On Monday, the city said it requested a “no board report” from the Ontario Ministry of Labour, stating in a press release that “despite best efforts, progress on the remaining outstanding issues was not achieved.”

“While a number of issues have been resolved, some issues remain, including job security, wages, benefits and parental leave,” the city said.

CUPE 416 represents about 5,000 city employees such as garbage collectors, maintenance workers and paramedics.

No board reports are typically issued when a union and the employer can’t reach an agreement during the conciliation process, which was happening in this case, the city said.

Once the no-board report is issued, CUPE 416 will be in a legal strike position in the third week of February.

“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 added.

Union says they are fighting privatization

CUPE president Eddie Mariconda said in a release the city wants 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. They need to answer for their positions more than we do,” he said. “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.”

Mariconda added that they aren’t the ones who walked away from the table.

“We are available to negotiate twenty-four-seven,” he said.

The city said it continues to negotiate with CUPE 79, the union that represents indoor employees.