The president of the union representing some 4,000 inside and outside City of Hamilton employees says their wage demands and what the city is offering are “far apart,” putting the group in a potential strike position.
Jay Hunter with CUPE 5167 says the pay increase is “priority one” after 95.3 per cent of members voted in favour of job action called upon by the union late last week.
“I can’t give the numbers, but we generally hope to see something in the neighborhood of the rate of inflation,” Hunter told 900 CHML’s Good Morning Hamilton.
“The employers only tabled a small percentage, which is a bit of a slap in the face for our members.”
Hunter wouldn’t reveal specifically what the union is seeking in a wage increase but says they’ve been taking “subpar collective increases” over the last few years.
The union, which represents seven city units, also contests staffers are overworked amid a continuing lack of staff brought on by the pandemic.
“We also hear that the city has given an increase of eight to 10 per cent to match market value for management non-union workers,” Hunter explained.
He says a lot of non-monetary issues have been “sorted out” since collective bargaining began in February.
Employees have been out of contact since the expiration of their last deal on Dec. 31, 2022.
After filing for third-party conciliation in mid-May, negotiators are expected back at the bargaining table no later than July 20-21.
If no deal is reached, job action is expected in late summer or early fall.
Work tied to public safety like water testing and DARTS transports, along with some staff in long-term care homes, are not expected to be affected by a work stoppage.
A city of Hamilton spokesperson told Global News Monday, they are aware of the strike vote and said they were “looking forward” to continuing talks at the bargaining table with a conciliator.
The city estimates some 3,200 members are likely to be affected if no resolution is found.
Overall, the city employs some 8,5oo workers. Library and Police services workers are excluded from that number.
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