Latest news with #labourdispute
CTV News
9 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
250 CN Tower workers could go on strike before Canada Day as contract talks stall
The CN Tower is pictured in Toronto, Wednesday, June 26, 2019. The CN Tower opened 43 years ago today THE CANADIAN PRESS/Colin Perkel More than 200 CN Tower workers could begin job action as soon as Monday, which could disrupt operations on Canada Day. In a statement on Friday, Unifor, which represents the 250 full-time and part-time workers at Toronto's iconic landmark, said negotiations had reached a standstill. The deadline to reach a deal and avoid a strike or lockout is at 12:01 a.m. on Monday. 'We've hit an impasse and time is running out,' said Shan Ramanathan, president of Unifor Local 4271. 'Our members want a fair deal. We're ready to bargain, but the company needs to return to the table with a serious commitment to reaching an agreement.' According to the union, the lack of pension improvements and the need for fair wage increases are among the key issues at the bargaining table. Union members include hosts, waitstaff, bartenders, chefs, cooks, and butchers. A spokesperson for the CN Tower said in a statement that it presented its best offer on Thursday, but the union 'chose not to respond.' Both sides have been in talks since April. The spokesperson noted that in the event of a labour disruption, the tower's observation levels, EdgeWalk, and the shop would remain open, but food and beverages would be unavailable. 'We remain hopeful that a labour disruption can be avoided through respectful and reasonable negotiation,' the statement read. The CN Tower is owned by Canada Lands Company, a Crown corporation.
CTV News
17 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Union workers call out Hydro-Quebec for asking tribunal to force employees back to work over holiday outages
Trade war or not, Hydro-Québec will have to continue to limit its exports to the United States. A Hydro-Québec worker on September 1, 2023. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press) Union workers with Hydro-Quebec are calling out the Crown corporation's decision to ask the labour tribunal to force employees back to work after Monday's storm that left over 100,000 clients in the Quebec City region without electricity. Hydro-Québec attempted to restore service quickly following the outages, but when it called on employees for help, very few responded, likely due to Fête Nationale. 'It was difficult to mobilize our teams, partly because of the holiday,' explained Hydro-Québec spokesperson Louis-Olivier Batty, in an interview with Noovo Info. Batty said that on holidays, the Crown corporation expects a 40 to 50 per cent response rate from its workers, but on Tuesday, only about 10 per cent of workers responded to the call. Fréderic Savard of the Hydro-Québec Trades Employees Union (SCFP 1500) told Noovo Info the situation highlights shortcomings in Hydro-Québec's planning regarding the management and predictability of work. 'We would like to point out the hypocrisy of Hydro-Québec, which brought the SCFP1500 union before the tribunal when there are still outages related to the storm, but Hydro-Québec discharged the workers on Wednesday, and all the teams were sent back to their respective regions,' said Savard. Hydro-Québec said on Thursday that the situation is nearly resolved, with 95 per cent of 'customers affected by outages related to the June 23 storms having their power restored.'By Friday morning, only 241 out of nearly 420,000 addresses were still without electricity. - With files from Noovo Info
CTV News
2 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Book details strike at the former INCO in 1958
Tony Ryma interviews Elizabeth Quinlan about her book, 'Standing Up to Big Nickel: The Story of the Mine, Mill and Smelters Workers Strike.' A University of Saskatchewan professor has written a book about the INCO strike in Sudbury in 1958. Elizabeth Quinlan's book, 'Standing Up to Big Nickel: The Story of the Mine, Mill and Smelters Workers Strike,' is a deep dive into the first legal INCO work stoppage. INCO strike of 1958 Elizabeth Quinlan's book, 'Standing Up to Big Nickel: The Story of the Mine, Mill and Smelters Workers Strike,' is a deep dive into the first legal INCO work stoppage. (Photo from video) 'The title reflects the sentiment of the workers when they downed their tools on Sept. 24, 1958, and walked out on strike against one of the largest monopolies in the world -- and certainly the biggest and the most powerful in the industry of mining,' Quinlan said. When negotiations started, she said union leaders believed the agreement would fall in line with all the previous agreements since 1944. Workers were fighting for better wages, better health and safety conditions and better benefits. No increase in wages 'It became clear in 1958 that there would be no increase to be had in wages from INCO,' said Quinlan. 'There was no movement on the provision of workers having a say on safety, and stack that up on the huge profits the company had been making.' The strike lasted 13 weeks and the labour dispute took a toll on families. Quinlan discovered that it also changed the family dynamics at home. 'Families had to make many sacrifices,' she said. 'Women who had never been in the paid labour force before and stepped out to the world of work for the first time.' Male strikers, for the first time, were responsible for child care. 'Women who had never been in the paid labour force before and stepped out to the world of work for the first time.' — Author Elizabeth Quinlan 'This was unheard of in the 1950s,' Quinlan said. 'There were sacrifices economically, sacrifices in terms of the level of uncertainty, and you never know the outcome.' Quinlan said she drew from accounts from union leaders, workers, their families and community members in writing the book. She said her father, Lukin Robinson, was the research director of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers. The work is dedicated to his memory.
National Post
4 days ago
- Business
- National Post
WSIB Workers Deliver Petition and Letter to Board of Directors as Strike Enters Second Month
Article content TORONTO — On Tuesday, June 24, 2025, striking members of the Ontario Compensation Employees Union (OCEU/CUPE 1750) will deliver a formal letter and petition to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Directors, demanding urgent action to end the ongoing labour dispute that has left more than 3,600 frontline workers off the job for over a month. Article content If the employer had confidence in its offer, it should table their best offer and allow workers to vote. Instead, it continues to halt the process, exposing a deliberate strategy of delay using workers of this province as pawns. Article content The letter, addressed to WSIB General Counsel David Luther, outlines serious concerns with the employer's handling of negotiations, including delays, refusal to table a final offer, violations of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA), and unlawful retaliation against workers exercising their right to strike. It calls on the Board to immediately intervene and hold WSIB leadership accountable. Article content Accompanying the letter is a petition signed by hundreds of striking workers across Ontario, urging the Board to bring negotiations to a fair and timely conclusion. The petition calls on WSIB to deliver immediate workload relief and fair wages, and to respect the collective bargaining process. Article content 'WSIB leadership has failed to bargain in good faith, failed to address dangerous workload levels, and failed to uphold the law,' said Harry Goslin, President of OCEU/CUPE 1750. 'That's why we're taking this message directly to the Board. They have the power — and the responsibility — to step in and stop the damage being done to injured workers, frontline staff, and Ontario's economy.' Article content The letter details: Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content For more information, please contact: Article content Article content Bill Chalupiak Article content Article content Article content
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
WSIB Workers Deliver Petition and Letter to Board of Directors as Strike Enters Second Month
TORONTO, June 24, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On Tuesday, June 24, 2025, striking members of the Ontario Compensation Employees Union (OCEU/CUPE 1750) will deliver a formal letter and petition to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Directors, demanding urgent action to end the ongoing labour dispute that has left more than 3,600 frontline workers off the job for over a month. The letter, addressed to WSIB General Counsel David Luther, outlines serious concerns with the employer's handling of negotiations, including delays, refusal to table a final offer, violations of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA), and unlawful retaliation against workers exercising their right to strike. It calls on the Board to immediately intervene and hold WSIB leadership accountable. Accompanying the letter is a petition signed by hundreds of striking workers across Ontario, urging the Board to bring negotiations to a fair and timely conclusion. The petition calls on WSIB to deliver immediate workload relief and fair wages, and to respect the collective bargaining process. "WSIB leadership has failed to bargain in good faith, failed to address dangerous workload levels, and failed to uphold the law," said Harry Goslin, President of OCEU/CUPE 1750. "That's why we're taking this message directly to the Board. They have the power — and the responsibility — to step in and stop the damage being done to injured workers, frontline staff, and Ontario's economy." The letter details: WSIB's refusal to table a final offer or allow workers to vote on the employer's proposal; Widespread delays and service disruptions for injured workers and businesses; Unfair labour practices, including surveillance, intimidation, and misinformation; Workload data showing anxiety and depression rates among staff at more than double the national average; A potential breach of WSIA, due to auto-adjudication practices that bypass proper review; Stagnant wages that lag behind both inflation and comparable workplaces. "This strike is now in its second month because of deliberate choices made by WSIB leadership and enabled by political interference," said Goslin. "If the Board wants to restore trust and integrity to this organization, they must act now." View source version on Contacts For more information, please contact: Bill ChalupiakCUPE Communications Representativewchalupiak@ 416-707-1401mb/cope491 Sign in to access your portfolio
