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C-R workers ready to strike for new contract
city’s bargaining committee, their hands are tied, " he said. "They have little latitude. I think this can be easily resolved, quite frankly." Michel Bellemare, Clarence-Rockland chief administrative officer, declined to dis- cuss the issues at stake in the current con- tract talks while the two sides are still in ne- gotiation and scheduled to meet with the mediator. "The city is committed to negotiating in good faith," he said, "for the good of the employees and also responsibly for the tax- payers of Clarence-Rockland." The Vision left a message for Mayor Mar- cel Guibord to comment on the situation. There was no reply by press deadline. Bézaire warned that if the union did go on strike, it could cost the city more when a new contract is worked out in the end. "It would be somewhat tragic if they force us out on strike," he said. "If we’re forced out, we may have to ask for more than what the city budgeted just to compensate them (workers) for what they lost."
GREGGCHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
Les employés municipaux de la Cité de Clarence-Rockland pourraient déclencher une grève. Après six jours de négociations in- fructueuses, tenues au RiverRock Inn, les employés du local 503 Syndicat de la fonc- tion publique canadienne (SFPC) on voté à 87% pour une grève. «Nous sommes dans une impasse», dit Jean-Marc Bézaire, conseiller syndical du SCFP. On croirait que les mains du comité de négociation de la Cité sont liées, ce qui suggère que le problème est lié à quelques officiers supérieurs à l’Hôtel de Ville.» Le Syndicat a demandé l’aide d’un concili- ateur duministère duTravail afin de régler la situation. Jean-Marc Bézaire a prévenu que si cette avenue ne règle pas le cas, le syndi- ROCKLAND | Six days of talks at the table before Christmas break failed. Now Clar- ence-Rockland’s support workers have voted for a possible strike. At the end of a union gathering at the RiverRock Inn, the members of the Cana- dian Union of Public Employees-Local 503 (CUPE) voted 87 per cent in favour of strike action to back their demands for a new con- tract with the City of Clarence-Rockland. "We are at an impasse," said Jean-Marc Bézaire, CUPE spokesman. "It seems like the hands of the municipal negotiating com- mittee are tied, which suggests that the problem lies higher up the ladder at City Hall." The union has asked the Labour Ministry for a mediator to try and resolve the situa- tion. The ministry has designated a media- tor to serve as a go-between for both sides. Now the question is when all three parties will meet for another sit-down session to try to hash out an agreement that both the city and union can accept. Discussion sessions for Jan. 14 and 17 were suggested as suitable for both the city and CUPE negotiating teams. But the me- diator’s own schedule calendar may not be able to accommodate the proposed dates. Both the city and union are waiting for word from the mediator on other alterna- tive meeting dates. Bézaire warned that if that option does not succeed, the union will have no other choice than strike action. "We hope that reason will prevail at City Hall," he said, "and a reasonable solution found." CUPE represents all of the city staff on the public works, snow removal, and garbage collection crews, arena workers, municipal daycare support, bylaw officers and build- ing inspectors, and clerical support in the planning and finance departments, and with administration. Both sides met last Nov. 27 to present proposals for a new contract then again for a five-day bargaining session Dec. 9 to 13. When no agreement was reached at the end
cat n’aura d’autre choix que de déclencher une grève. «Nous espérons que la raison prévaudra à l’Hôtel de Ville et qu’une solution raison- nable sera trouvée», a declaré M. Bézaire. La section locale503duSyndicat canadien de la fonction publique (SCFP) représente tous les employés municipaux de la Cité de Clarence-Rockland, soit: les opérateurs des services de déneigement à la voirie, les opérateurs des arénas, les mécaniciens, les éducatrices en milieu de garde des enfants, les opérateurs au site d’enfouissement, la collecte des taxes, les comptes payables, les comptes à recevoir, les urbanistes, les in- specteurs de bâtiments, les officiers à la ré- glementation et autre personnel de soutien administratif aux bureaux municipaux. of the session, the CUPE local held a mem- bers meeting later in December for the vote on whether to support strike action. Right now the union is in a legal strike po- sition and members of the local can go out and picket in February if mediation fails. During a Monday phone interview, Bézaire said there are a number of issues the union wants addressed in the new con- tract. But the key one concerns the benefits plan and its financing. The last contract negotiation saw the City of Clarence-Rockland accept 85 per cent funding of the benefits package for its em- ployees. Before the city’s share of the plan was 80 per cent. Bézaire noted that the problem with the arrangement is that, even though the city’s share of the package funding increased, the premiums for the package also increased and that wiped out the value of most of the wage increase negotiated for the last con- tract. "The members were quite irate at what happened then," he said. Now the union wants the city to agree to 100 per cent funding of the employee benefits package in return for a lower wage increase demand from the union. During the strike vote meeting last month, CUPE officials asked members of the local their opinion on that proposal. The vote was 70 per cent in favour of a lower pay increase in return for full funding from the city for the benefits plan. "The issue is not how much money,"
Bézaire said, regarding contract demands, "but where the money goes." But Bézaire said that idea was rejected when put to the city’s negotiating team. That prompted his comment regarding blame for the bargaining deadlock. "What I meant is that it appears with the ALL THE SUPPLIERS UNDER THE SAME ROOF! SPECIALIST IN PORCELAIN TILES • custom waterproof shower • stain-free Epoxy Grout and not latex resistant grout • backsplash / floor / wall installation LA MAISON DU STORE CERODEM EURO SARANA CÉRATEC OLYMPIA CENTURA
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