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TORONTO, Ont. – As the City of Toronto hands over the collection of solid waste west of Yonge Street to a private firm, officials from the Toronto Civic Employees Union, Local 416 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE 416), today announced a special hotline for people to call if they have concerns or complaints about the reduced quality of service they will receive.
“August 7 is a bad day for all residents of Toronto and a sad day for working people across the city, said Mark Ferguson, President of CUPE 416.
“It’s a bad day for residents because it’s the day where we collectively lost control and oversight of a critical public service. It’s a sad day for workers because it represents yet another step towards poorer wages, less security, and less dignity for all working people,” he added.
To ensure residents affected by the change can register their concerns or complaints, Local 416 has established a ‘Waste Watchers’ hotline. Residents who observe shoddy service, mixing of waste streams (garbage, recyclables, organics), dangerous driver activity or other problems, are encouraged to contact 1-866-419-2227 and make a report.
“Green For Life, the private operator the city handed our members’ jobs over to, is now subsidized by the Toronto taxpayer to the tune of millions of dollars a year for the next decade. Local 416 will do everything in its power to ensure that they have the necessary oversight to be held accountable,” said Ferguson.
“For quality, value, and effective control, the best way to deal with Toronto’s solid waste is in-house. That’s not an opinion; that’s a fact we are confident will be demonstrated time and again in the weeks, months, and years to come,” he added.
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For more information, please contact:
Mark Ferguson, President, CUPE 416, 416-602-8561
Kevin Wilson, CUPE Communications, 416-821-6641
