Tentative agreement reached in Toronto Zoo negotiations
Posted April 26, 2013 11:39 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO – A tentative agreement was reached early Friday morning between the Toronto Zoo and its union representing around 400 workers.
Zoo employees were in a legal lockout or strike position as of 12:01 a.m., but discussions continued past the deadline.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE 1600) said the agreement was reached after 2 a.m.
Details of the agreement will not be revealed until union members vote on the agreement. CUPE said a ratification vote will take place early next week.
Contract talks
At a CUPE Local 1600 news conference Thursday afternoon, union members said they believe a deal was within reach, and there is no need for management to lock the workers out as of 12:01 Friday morning.
However, as the hours went by Thursday evening, it became apparent the two sides were reaching an impasse, with union members saying the talks weren’t moving quickly enough.
The midnight deadline came and went with both sides continuing to talk.
“[Wednesday] I would have said that we were miles apart, but we’ve made some significant progress, and I’m hoping that that will continue into [Thursday] evening,” union president Christine McKenzie told 680News, saying that progress was made once the union backed off nearly all of its demands.
That progress began to stall into Thursday evening, with McKenzie saying she was very concerned.
Issues which are still at stake included the removal of some of the workers’ benefits, which the union calls “offensive.”
What concerned McKenzie the most is the impact it would have on animal care and customer service should the 400 Zoo workers – including permanent, part-time and seasonal employees – be locked out.
“We’re not all zookeepers,” she said. “We’re custodians and gardeners and [vet techs and] maintenance staff too, but a lot of us do work directly with the animals and it’s our passion and our joy.”
“We love it, so not being able to take of them when we’re the ones that do that every day, of course it’s concerning to us.”
