KITCHENER, Ont. – Inside workers with the City of Kitchener, represented by Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 791, are standing strong and demanding respect from their employer after five long months of bargaining that have resulted in the union filing for conciliation.
While some progress was made, discussions came at a standstill after it was revealed that City Council had a mandate with regards to outstanding issues and would not change their position.
“The City’s inside workers, who are mostly women, deserve to be treated with the same respect as the outside workers who managed to reach a fair deal with this Employer just last year,” said CUPE National Representative Dayn Gray.
“We are hopeful that we can have fruitful discussions in the next few weeks to resolve this without any service disruptions.”
In order to make some progress, City Council will have to amend its current mandate. The parties are set to meet on September 5 in order to try and come to an agreement that is acceptable for both parties.
“We remain committed to providing Kitchener residents with the quality public services they rely on and will continue to work hard to reach a fair deal without having to take action,” added Gray.
“However, we need the city to do its part.”
CUPE 791 represents inside workers with the City of Kitchener. Among the local’s members are administrative and program assistants, facility and field schedulers, customer service representatives, by-law enforcement officers, municipal building officials, engineers and planners.
The strike deadline is September 11, 2014 at 12:01 a.m.