Key takeaways:
- The city offers sick leave deduction; the union calls the city inflexible and withdraws bids.
- Before this month, a crowd of striking city employees showed up outside Mount Pearl’s public works depot on Clyde Avenue in Mount Pearl.
The City of Mount Pearl and the union symbolizing municipal employees are at a spot as a strike enters its fourth week.
Mayor Dave Aker said no negotiations had occurred this week. Ken Turner, president of Local 2099 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, said it’s up to the city to determine when conversations happen again.
Local 2099 went on strike on July 7, saying it declined to take a two-tier system concerning what union leadership said were unacceptably low advantages for new hires.
Aker stated Thursday the city offered to decrease sick leave for unionized staff from 21 days to 18 and 12 for new hires.
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“We’re not touching their pension scheme. We’ll persist with the limited benefit pension plan and excellent health and dental plan,” Aker said.
Turner stated that’s a distraction from the real problems since the city’s management is in the same assistance plan and already has more paid holiday days than unionized employees. He said the city is attempting to alter fundamental parts of their collective accord, which expired at the end of June.
“The city has shown nothing to its employees and instead has decided to walk back or withdraw benefits that have already been negotiated through past deals,” said Turner.
Aker said the city is relaxed while trying to strike a balance for taxpayers, and he blamed the union for wanting to talk only regarding earnings. “Their arms are folded, and they don’t want to speak about anything but wages,” Aker said.
Source – CBC News
