The union representing striking engineers employed by the Ontario government is again escalating its industrial action by removing workers from a slew of highway projects in a decision it says will throw sand in the gears of the province’s infrastructure expansion plans.
For months, the Professional Engineers Government of Ontario union has been locked in a contract battle with the province, saying its members are paid substantially less than both the private sector and Crown corporations like Metrolinx or Infrastructure Ontario.
The feud has seen work-to-rule action introduced, followed by the decision to remove expert members from key projects, initially Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass. The two routes formed a key election plank for the Ford government in 2022 and represent part of the province’s vision to add new roadways in its attempts to reduce gridlock.
By removing engineers, PEGO said the two highway projects would stall and construction would be delayed.
On Tuesday, PEGO increased the stakes again and said it is removing its members from a range of bridge repairs and lane widening on Highway 401. Several other plans across the province were also impacted.
The union said it had withdrawn engineers from the following projects:
- Highway 401 bridge replacements and highway expansion in Durham
- Highway 11 ‘2+1’ pilot project widening north of North Bay
- Highway 3 expansion in Essex County
- Highway 401 Lauzon parkway
- Highway 401 widening near Kingston
- Highway 401 widening in London
- Highway 7 from Kitchener to Guelph
- Highway 3 twinning in St Thomas to accommodate a Volkswagen battery plant
The union had complained the government had essentially locked out the members who had withdrawn their work from Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass, after an email telling them they couldn’t return to work until a new collective agreement was signed or the province said so.
On Nov. 15 and Nov. 16, the two sides engaged in two days of bargaining, the union said, which yielded “modest progress” but still left them far apart.
“Our position from the beginning has been the same,” PEGO president Nihar Batt said in a statement, stressing the job action was being coordinated not to jeopardize any safety matters related to the projects.
“PEGO members earn substantially less than the market for professional engineers and land surveyors in Ontario and this means the talent and expertise needed to deliver on the ambitious infrastructure agenda of the government is in jeopardy.”
The Ontario treasury board, which leads negotiations, has said it has made reasonable offers. The union has been without a deal for 22 months.
“Since July 2023, the government has held numerous bargaining sessions with the Professional Engineers Government of Ontario (PEGO) bargaining team to reach a fair deal,” a spokesperson previously said.
“The government has been negotiating in good faith and will continue to do so. All government ministries have continuity of operation plans in place to help them manage through any potential disruptions from labour action.”
Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria, whose projects appear to be the most impacted by the strike action, has said he plans to find ways around the strike.
“We’re moving full speed ahead,” he pledged after engineers were removed from Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass. “This project is too important not to build and we are moving ahead without delay.”
The union has said its demand is essentially a rounding error on the provincial infrastructure budget and critical to delivering the projects, suggesting treasury board negotiators are out of step with Premier Doug Ford’s agenda.
“It just doesn’t make common sense,” Bhatt said. ‘“Our jobs are to save the government money, watch over public assets and build public infrastructure for the long-term interests of Ontarians.”