The city has asked the Ministry of Labour to appoint a conciliator as it continues to negotiate with a union representing more than 6,000 municipal workers.
CUPE 416, which represents the city’s outside workers, will be without a contract as of the new year and to date negotiations have not led to substantial progress on a new deal.
By requesting a conciliator, the city has now satisfied a key legal requirement that is necessary in order to declare an impasse and pave the way for a potential work stoppage.
There are still several hurdles before a lockout could be imposed or workers could walk off the job, though, including the issuing of a no-board report.
In a statement issued late Friday afternoon the bargaining committee for CUPE 416 said they were taken aback by the city’s request for conciliation but remain committed to a negotiated contract.
“The Local 416 bargaining committee was surprised to learn that the City of Toronto has requested conciliation. To date, we have not yet received all of the city’s proposals. Yesterday, the city tabled substantial proposals that we were quickly moving to respond to. In spite of this, the city proceeded to apply for conciliation without receiving our response,” the statement said.
Negotiations between the city and CUPE 416 have been ongoing since October.
The union represents garbage collectors, park and rink maintenance staff, wastewater treatment plant staff, animal control officers and parking attendants, among other municipal staff.
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