Freezing rain ices waste collection
Workers accuse city of having them work in “unsafe” conditions
Unionized waste collectors refused en masse to go out in the ice storm and accused the city of trying to force them to work in unsafe conditions.
All 60 city waste collectors initially notified the city of a formal work refusal in the middle of Wednesday’s storm that coated streets and sidewalks and triggered the closure of schools, post-secondary institutions and businesses.
Unionized city workers collect trash for about half of the city, including the downtown, parts of Flamborough and Dundas.
A private contractor, GFL, covers the Mountain and other areas and collects recycling throughout Hamilton.
Barry Conway, a vice-president for the trash collectors’ union, surprised city councillors Wednesday by storming into a City Hall meeting and publicly accusing the city of forcing trash collectors to work in “unsafe conditions.”
“These folks don’t complain when it’s – 20 C. They still go out and do the job,” said a visibly upset Conway afterward. “The fact is, the conditions are extremely icy, it’s not safe.”
He said the city disagreed that the
work was unsafe, prompting a visit from the provincial Ministry of Labour, which told The Spectator it was still evaluating the complaint as of late Wednesday.
The Spectator was unable to reach top public works staff for a comment on the dispute before deadline Wednesday.
But an email to councillors
from waste manager Joel McCormick acknowledged the “extreme weather” delays for trash collection and confirmed the city was consulting with the labour ministry “to ensure we could provide a healthy and safe working environment for the city’s waste management staff.”
The city warned the public online to expect possible trash collection delays because of freezing rain and to put out garbage again the next morning by 7 a.m. if it was not picked up
Wednesday.
Conway said his visit to city hall was born of “pure frustration” at what workers view as an unreasonable response from city managers.
He pointed out collectors on regular garbage trucks were being asked to constantly hop on and off ice-covered vehicles onto icy sidewalks.
“The steps these folks actually stand on … are covered in ice. The handles are covered in ice. The safety features that operate
the hopper (where bags are thrown and crushed) that keep everyone safe, those are covered in ice.”
It wasn’t immediately clear how the ice storm affected private collector GFL, although Conway said the union had asked the city to delay all trash collection in the city for safety reasons. The city did say recycling collection, which is done via private contractor, was unaffected.
Conway also said a handful of “side-loading” city collection trucks, which involve more mechanical pickup, were sent out in the early afternoon to do limited collection. But most city collection workers, he said, did not hit the road.
Work refusal for reasons of safety is allowed under provincial legislation and not uncommon. But Conway said it is rare to see a collective refusal “on this scale.”