LOYALIST TOWNSHIP, ON – The Loyalist Township’s municipal workers have requested the assistance of a provincial conciliator to help reach a collective agreement with their employer after the Township’s hired consultant continued to push for contract take-aways that could push the community into a service disruption that nobody wants, says the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing the 60 municipal workers.
“This is the first time in our history that we had to seek the assistance of a third party to help us reach a collective agreement with the Township,” said Alex Scott, president of CUPE 2150. “We’ve always been able to work things out with management and have a respectful and productive relationship with the employer in the past. It appears things are very different this time, with new management in place who’ve hired an outside consultant that seems determined to strip off all the goodwill that’s been built with the Township over the years.”
CUPE 2150 called for conciliation after the hired consultant outlined a list of contract take-aways that would strip the existing agreement bare. Both parties are set to resume negotiations with the help of a provincial conciliator on Tuesday, July 28.
“We were very surprised that the outside consultant pushed to have a conciliation meeting in July when the employer knew that key members of our bargaining team were not available,” continued Scott. “However, we want to show good faith and have made arrangements to be available on Tuesday with the full intention to bargain, and we hope that management is willing to bargain as well and not using this meeting to trigger a countdown toward a lock-out of services that will deny our community the important services that they count on.”
CUPE 2150 represents over 60 municipal workers who provide municipal services, including public works maintenance of roads, sidewalks, parks, fleet, ferry dock maintenance, land-fill operations, snow removal, emergency services vehicle maintenance, water treatment and distribution services, wastewater treatment and collection services, arena and pool maintenance and operation, administration and financial services, building and property standard inspections and planning and engineering services. The workers’ last contract expired on December 31, 2014.
“Our members live and work in Loyalist Township and we have roots in our community. We are proud to work here and contribute to the success of our community,” said Scott. “Loyalist residents will find it interesting to know that most of management and the hired consultant live outside the Township but are trying to dictate terms and conditions that will lower the working conditions for workers and affect the quality of life for workers and their families in our community.”
“All our members want is a fair collective agreement that will allow them to continue serving the residents of our community,” concluded Scott. “We hope that management will return to bargaining on Tuesday and share our attitude to bargain meaningfully.”
-30-
For more information, please contact:
Alex Scott, CUPE 2150 President, 613-888-4516
Kevin Rochon, CUPE National Representative, 613-542-8254
James Chai, CUPE Communications, 905-739-3999
