Work together to avoid disaster
They were already in a deep freeze. But labour relations have grown even frostier at Toronto city hall with more than 30,000 municipal workers now without a contract, management resorting to bargaining in public, and the deputy mayor musing about a winter showdown since “staff would rather strike when there’s nice weather.”
Both sides in this dispute are quick to say they want a negotiated settlement — not a strike or lockout. But all their actions are leading toward an epic confrontation resulting in the shutting of city services, perhaps within weeks.
Management is intent on rolling back certain contract provisions and union leaders are vowing to resist what they call a blatant attack on workers. City negotiators are to update Toronto’s labour relations committee on the state of bargaining Thursday. But one thing is already clear: there’s been too much bellicose posturing on all sides.
It needn’t be this way. The cold reality is that everyone hurts when public services are disrupted, especially if management locks out workers. It’s a lose-lose-lose proposition. Mayor Rob Ford’s administration can expect a further drop in popularity as Torontonians are deprived of city services. Union members would suffer a loss of income, perhaps for an extended time, and the public would be stuck without garbage collection, city child care, community centres, access to necessary permits, building inspections, and a host of other services. Even libraries could close in a lockout. That’s why it makes so much sense to reach a settlement. Yet it may not happen. The city is targeting terms and conditions of employment. Workers’ job security is clearly at risk from an administration determined to contract out as many jobs as possible. And according to Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday, management wants major changes to “bumping” rules. These allow long-serving employees whose positions are eliminated to take the job of someone with less seniority.
Workers are sure to resist such change, especially in light of anticipated layoffs. Bumping will be a huge concern. It didn’t help that Ford recently mused about getting rid of as many as 7,000 city employees, “give or take.” Other contract rollbacks sought by management include changes in shift scheduling and rules governing paid lunches.
There seems a reasonable case for doing away with some of these provisions. But management must be careful not to over-reach. Holyday said these gains entered the contract over years, so it’s too much to expect their removal all at once. Some flexibility is in order.
Unions, too, must be prepared to compromise. Toronto faces serious budget woes, the administration is bent on finding efficiencies, and workers should not expect to avoid making any sacrifice at all in this difficult bargaining year.
Reaching a negotiated settlement, without a strike or lockout, would be best for all. Such a deal remains possible, despite the chill cast on collective bargaining. What it will take, however, is an end to strident public statements and mutual recrimination, followed by reasoned moves toward real and lasting compromise.