Updated August 13, 2024 @ 6:34pm
The County of Simcoe has released a statement regarding a possible strike by municipal and social services workers and other county administrative/support roles.
Members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 5820.00 and 5820.01 represent around 290 employees.
County officials say negotiators from the County of Simcoe and the union met with a provincially appointed mediator on Friday, August 2, to discuss ongoing collective bargaining negotiations.
"Both parties were able to approve, in principle, a tentative agreement, which required ratification by the members of CUPE 5820.00 and 5820.01 and then by County Council," officials wrote in a statement today.
On Tuesday, August 6, members of the union voted against the offer.
"While we respect the decision of the membership, we are disappointed with the results," said the county.
According to officials, they believed the offer was "fair, aligned with market comparables and other compensation packages (union and non-union) at the County, and ultimately respected taxpayers’ dollars."
The union had posted to its website in July saying, "Our employer, the County of Simcoe, is refusing to negotiate fair wages that are in line with inflation and the increasing cost of living. As a result, we continue to lose workers to neighbouring counties who offer higher wages. This affects the quality of services that the county is able to provide to its residents."
Per the county, the offer provided included:
- A 3-year agreement with a wage increase in the first year consisting of a fixed hourly rate increase of $1.25. This increase represents different percentage increases depending on the specific role but provides an average 3.5% increase in year one across all positions. Years two and three provided a further 3% increase each year.
- Additional health and dental benefits.
- Significant vacation enhancements, among other elements.
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"CUPE Leadership has indicated to us that they have no further plans to return to the bargaining table under the current terms," the county stated. "This group of employees is currently in a position to hold a legal work stoppage or be locked out by the County as of August 18th, 2024, although no confirmation has been given.
"The County and the Provincial Mediator are holding a date for further discussions in hopes that the CUPE bargaining team will return to the table to avoid a work stoppage."
Per the county, should a work stoppage occur:
- All essential community support and services, including landfills, waste collections, transit, road/plowing operations, paramedics, long-term care and seniors services WILL continue without impact as these services are not directly impacted by these collective agreements.
- We anticipate that a strike could lead to the closure of the Simcoe County Museum (including impacts to Day Camp programming), Simcoe County Archives, and Service Simcoe Contact Centre. Current service and contact information for many departments will be updated regularly on simcoe.ca.
- Ontario Works payments and child care fee subsidies will continue, however, there could be some processing delays for new applications or implementing changes to existing case files.
The County of Simcoe holds 11 collective bargaining agreements with unionized employees and says they have not had a labour stoppage in more than 20 years.
The county reiterated that a work stoppage has not been confirmed by either party at this time.
For updates and information on possible impacts on the collective bargaining efforts, visit simcoe.ca.
Barrie 360 has reached out to CUPE officials for comment.
