토론토 뉴스 Toronto reaches tentative deal with unions

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Toronto reaches tentative deal with unions

Toronto's Mayor David Miller confirm‎s the city has reached deals with inside and outside workers, meaning the 36-day-old strike could soon be over if union members ratify the deals.

27/07/2009 3:52:24 PM

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Toronto Mayor David Miller speaks at a news conference in Toronto, on Monday, July 27, 2009.

ctvtoronto.ca

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"The agreements reach the principles we set out at the outset of negotiations," he said shortly after 3:30 p.m. Monday. "They are fair to the workers, affordable to Torontonians, and will allow the city the flexibility to continue to deliver high-quality services well into the future."

He conceded this dispute had been hard on everyone -- strikers, citizens and the non-union and management staff who worked extremely long hours to keep things functioning.

"This agreement, if ratified, means we can get back to doing the work we do so well," added city manager Joe Pennachetti. But he warned it will take days to get back to normal, if the unions and city council do ratify the deals.

He said people should keep checking the city website, Toronto.ca, for details on returning things to normal.

Specifics on the deals will have to await the outcome of the ratification vote, the city said. City council will hold its ratification vote on Friday.

Miller said the controversial temporary dump sites will remain open this week.

CUPE Local 79 president Ann Dembinski said just before Miller spoke that her 18,000-member union had reached a deal with the city, meaning the strike could soon be over if members ratify the proposed settlements.

The Local 79 vote will take place Wednesday, as will the vote for Local 416. Dembinski said she thinks it's a good deal and that her members will vote to ratify the four "unique" agreements.

"We want to get back to delivering the services to provide the citizens of Toronto," she said, but she also said: "We could have had a deal without a strike."

A deal was reached with CUPE Local 416, the union representing the 6,200 city's garbage collectors and other outside workers, at about 7:30 a.m. That local only had one collective agreement with the city.

"We have the basis for a deal," union president Mark Ferguson said Monday morning to thunderous applause from his members. "It's a fair deal. Compromises were made but at the end of the day, we have a deal that we're proud of."

He said concessions were not taken off the table until the final hour of bargaining but Ferguson refused to say what those concessions were. Ferguson said he would not speak to the details of the settlement but that it's an agreement that has been accepted unanimously by the bargaining committee.

The deal does not mean an end to the civic strike just yet. The deal reached with Local 416 still needs to be ratified. That vote will also take place on Wednesday.

Strike's toll

The strike has turned Toronto parks into a dumping ground as city services such as garbage collection and park maintenance were frozen as part of the job action.

The strike has also cut daycare programs and summer camps, cancelled swimming pool supervision and ferry services to Centre Island. Many construction projects suffered as developers couldn't get business permits.

The strike began June 22 and affects about 24,000 inside and outside workers (the city gives the count at 30,000; the discrepancy isn't explained) -- not to mention 2.5 million Torontonians.

The outstanding issue at the bargaining table has been around sick day payments for union members. Currently, employees are allowed to bank unused sick days (they get 18 per year) and get to cash them in for up to six month's pay at retirement. The city has said it simply can no longer afford the long-term costs. Observers have noted earlier civic governments had agreed to such deals as a way to sweeten the monetary pot without raising wages.

Lorenzo Lisi, an Ontario labour lawyer, told CTV's Canada AM on Monday that legacy costs are hard to negotiate because businesses and governments try to cut back on benefits that have already been earned and received.

"That's the friction we're seeing," he said in a telephone interview from Port Carling, Ont. "It's happening not just in governments but in a lot of different industries right now."

Wages had been another sticking point.

The unions had wanted the three per cent raises that police and firefighters had obtained last year through arbitrated settlements. The city had offered 7.2 per cent. LCBO workers, represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, settled for 7.75 per cent over four years.

After a 101-day strike, city workers in Windsor agreed to a 6.3 per cent hike over four years plus a lump-sum payment. However, they had to give up on post-retirement benefits for new hires.

Ultimatum

Ferguson and Local 416 decided to put pressure on the city last week by issuing an ultimatum.

Ferguson told reporters on Friday that if they were not able to reach a deal with the city before midnight Sunday, negotiators would stop bargaining and join protesters on the picket line.

However, at the last minute, the union announced it would continue to talk with the city past the deadline. At first officials said they would stay at the bargaining table until 1 a.m. Monday, however the new deadline came and went without an announcement until about 7 a.m.

At that point, Ferguson told reporters he would negotiate with the city for another 30 minutes. He came back to the media room at around 8:30 a.m. to announce a tentative deal had been reached.

There were signs throughout the weekend that talks were progressing well. However, both sides were quick to say several outstanding issues needed to be resolved.

Toronto Mayor David Miller said Sunday afternoon that he felt "optimistic" and that discussions have been "very productive."

Local 79 did not impose a deadline but a representative had said its members also hoped to reach a deal by the weekend.

"All along, despite what has been portrayed, we've seen an urgency in getting a deal," Dembinski said. "I can't always say there was an urgency on the other side."

Over the last 10 days, the pace picked up, she said.

But she said a deal was very close in April "until the city changed course."

Dembinski said while her members are professional, "labour relations has been set back decades. It will not be the same for years to come, because of this labour disruption."

Miller later told News Channel that he hoped labour relations hadn't been set back.

"I always believed this strike had been unnecessary," but that since a negotiated deal had been reached, it will mean "management and labour will be able to work together in an effective and productive way," he said.

On July 10, Miller publicly released the city's offer. That actuion outraged Dembinski and Ferguson.

With reports from CTV Toronto's Austin Delaney and Michelle Dube

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