Employer concessions not removed during bargaining: CUPE
After 12 days of bargaining, workers at Halifax Water on Nov. 22 voted in favour of strike action.
“We asked the employer at the outset to remove anything that wasn’t going to facilitate a deal,” said Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) National Representative Karen MacKenzie. “They refused to remove the concessions, and we can’t bargain with nine concessions still on the table.”
There were 13 concessions on the table at the start of bargaining, most of which will negatively affect work-life balance, said the union.
Bargaining broke off on Oct. 30, and CUPE applied for conciliation on Oct. 31.
“We are disappointed, considering the previous labour disruption three years ago, that the employer came to the table with an extensive list of concessions. It’s disrespectful to the employees and contrary to what they led us to believe going into bargaining,” said Dave Dort, Local 227 president.
The 230 employees provide clean drinking water and treat wastewater and storm-water for the citizens of the Halifax Regional Municipality. The last time the local experienced a labour disruption was in 2015, in an effort to protect pensions. That labour disruption lasted 53 days, said CUPE.
