news
City Files Complaint Against Cupe 79
The City of Toronto—which has chastised CUPE 416 for negotiating in public (by leaking news about their opening bargaining proposals and requests for concessions from the union)—just sent a press release to all media covering City Hall, informing them that they have lodged a complaint against sister local CUPE 79. Contracts with locals 416 (which represents about 6,000 outside workers) and 79 (representing 22,000 inside workers) will expire January 1, and both sides are gearing up for an especially contentious negotiation process. The issue with CUPE 79, according to the City:
The City met with Local 79 on October 17; however, the Local was unwilling to commence bargaining and continues to be unwilling to commence bargaining. The City does not believe that collective bargaining commenced as required under the Labour Relations Act and yesterday filed a complaint on the grounds of unfair labour practice with the Ontario Labour Relations Board. The City has also written to the Ministry of Labour requesting that a conciliator be appointed.
In the same release the City outlines its priorities in the negotiations with CUPE—unsurprisingly, these are focused on cost containment—and notes that meetings with CUPE 416 have also failed to advance as much as they had hoped.