City and outside workers’ union reach tentative deal
Posted February 18, 2016 6:06 am.
Last Updated February 19, 2016 11:48 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A tentative deal has been reached in the contract dispute between the City of Toronto and its outside workers.
CUPE Local 416, which represents the city’s 4,200 outside workers, and the city continued negotiations past the 12:01 a.m. Friday deadline.
The tentative deal avoids a labour disruption that would see, among other things, garbage pickup east of Yonge Street halted.
Leading up to Friday morning’s deadline, the city countered an earlier offer by the union. The city’s proposal reportedly included a wage increase for workers.
Earlier Thursday, CUPE local 416 stressed it was willing to endure a sleepless night in hopes of reaching a deal.
Matt Alloway, who is a member of CUPE’s bargaining committee, said the union is “prepared to do whatever we need to do to achieve a collective agreement, and if that means going beyond the deadline tonight, we are prepared to do so.”
Alloway said he was hopeful the offer Local 416 made on Wednesday “will help us achieve a fair collective agreement that addresses the city’s concerns, and at the same time addresses the concerns of our membership.”
A Saturday 12:01 deadline is also looming for the city’s 23,100 inside workers.
Tim Maguire, the president of CUPE Local 79, said a deal could be within reach but it may also require a deadline extension to get there.
“We’re concentrating on negotiating collective agreements, and we think we should be willing to go beyond those deadlines to find a collaborative approach to solving issues at the table,” Maguire said.
Local 79 also tabled a proposal on Wednesday which the city countered on Thursday. Maguire said the union has withdrawn several demands and it expects the city to play ball.
“It’s a way forward, both because we’ve withdrawn dozens of proposals, and because we’ve asked the city to meet us halfway by doing the same.”
If inside workers fail to reach a deal, the city’s daycare centres would be forced to close.
Mayor John Tory seemed optimistic that a labour disruption could be avoided.
“There is absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t get a deal today,” he said. “I think it is extremely important that we push hard to arrive at an agreement.”
