City announces tentative deal with striking water workers in Hamilton

CBC

08-07-2025

City water workers have been on strike since May 14
In a social media post late Monday night, the City of Hamilton says it has reached a tentative deal with the union representing 54 water workers who have been on strike for almost two months.
In the post, published just before midnight, the city said it had reached the tentative agreement with the Hamilton Ontario Water Employees Association (HOWEA) following ongoing negotiations.
"The tentative agreement is now subject to ratification by HOWEA's membership and approval by City Council," the city said.
"The delivery of critical water, wastewater and stormwater services to the community will continue uninterrupted given the commitment of both parties to recommend the agreement for ratification," the city said in a post on its website.
Water workers went on strike on May 14 after negotiations with the city fell through.
Greg Hoath, business manager of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 772, on behalf of HOWEA, said in May that the workers oversee the water purifying process as well as the discharge of waste water.
Back then, Hoath said workers faced two major issues that haven't been addressed for two decades.
He said the first is operators are required to get four, "Level 3" certifications but are paid less than a different group of workers who are only required to have one, "Level 1" certification. The union wanted to close that gap by increasing the pay of its members by six per cent over four years.
Hoath also said the second issue is that if operators want to reach the top pay rate, they have to undergo on-the-job training, but it can take the city as long as 10 years to facilitate it.
In May, Mat Couture, a millwright picketing outside the plant, told CBC Hamilton that the high cost of living pushed workers into demanding more money. He says his team, which keeps the plant operating smoothly and fixes things when they break, is not paid as much as millwrights in other water systems.
"We're severely underpaid," he told CBC Hamilton, noting the average wages for millwrights in online job postings are between $43 and $45 per hour, while he and his colleagues make $38.64.
"In Halton Region… at the Skyway Wastewater Treatment Plant, their millwrights and electricians are currently being paid $43.56 an hour."