The CEO of the Toronto Transit Commission is hopeful that the agency will reach a deal with its 700 electrical and signal workers ahead of the FIFA World Cup in June.
Speaking to CP24 on Thursday afternoon, TTC CEO Mandeep Lali said the agency started initial negotiations in January, but the CUPE Local 2, the union that represents the workers, only came to the table in March.
“We have always said from day one, this is to protect FIFA, to protect service and ensure we have a fiscally responsible deal,” Lali said.
The TTC confirmed on Thursday that the Ontario Ministry of Labour granted its request to issue a “no-board” report, which means workers could be locked out or walk off the job as early as May 16.
In a statement, the TTC said the report “creates the structural foundation” for both parties to reach a deal before the tournament on June 12.
Lali told CP24 that the TTC has offered “more than an above-inflation deal,” but the union’s counter, which he claimed equates to $86,000 per employee over three years, is something the agency cannot afford.
“The purpose of the final stage of the bargaining process, which I enacted today, and I phoned the Local 2 president myself to inform him, was to get to a deal. That is the hope. That is what we’re striving towards. And that’s what we’ve consistently said since January,” Lali said.
Members of CUPE Local 2, which includes TTC’s communications, electrical and signal workers, voted in favour of strike action earlier this month. Their contract expired on March 31.
According to a union news release earlier this month, the key issues on the bargaining table are wages and employer concession demands.
CUPE Local 2 president Sumit Guleria questioned the TTC’s escalating moves in a statement last week.
“That raises serious questions about whether the focus is on bargaining or applying pressure to reach a deal ahead of the World Cup, at a time when our members are facing a cost-of-living crisis,” he said in a statement on April 24.
The TTC said transit operations are not impacted during the negotiations.
