Toronto’s inside workers to vote on strike mandate Tuesday

The union representing Toronto’s inside workers has announced it will hold a strike vote on Tuesday.

“We did not come by the decision to seek a strike mandate lightly,” CUPE Local 79 president Tim Maguire said in a statement released Sunday.

“We are not holding a vote because we want to stop working. We are doing it because we want the city to start talking.”

Maguire said the city is asking for major concessions and a deal that offers much less than the one negotiated for outside workers.

His union has scheduled a ratification vote for next Saturday in the event a deal is reached by the bargaining deadline.

“Our goal is to negotiate fair collective agreements without a strike,” he said.

Earlier this month, the Ontario Ministry of Labour granted the city’s request for a no-board report, which paves the way for a strike or lockout.

Local 79 represents 23,000 inside workers including civil servants, child care workers, ambulance dispatchers, nurses and janitors.

Their collective agreement expired Dec. 31, 2011.

Meanwhile, the city has another labour dispute on its hands. On Sunday, CUPE Local 4948, which represents 2,300 Toronto Public Library workers announced they were taking job action by going on strike after contract talks with the city stalled.

With files from CityNews.ca staff

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