(Halifax) – Employees at Cole Harbour Place have voted 97% in favour of strike action.
CUPE National Representative Jacquie Bramwell says, “The 35 members of Local 108 have been in bargaining for seven months and have had no luck trying to reach a negotiated settlement.”
Bramwell says, “Only five of these employees are in full time positions, which is a direct result of HRM’s strategy to contract out the operation of the facility so they could drive wages and other working conditions down to absolute minimal levels.”
CUPE Local 108 represents Operators, Housekeepers and Security at the facility. The local has applied for the services of a Conciliator.
Says Bramwell, “The union will be staging an information picket in the next couple of weeks, to help advise the public of the low wages, lack of benefits and lack of respect for these employees.”
“As a major Canadian municipality, HRM cannot continue to bury its head in the sand on the wages and working conditions at Cole Harbour Place. Even though they are not the direct employer, this municipality has a moral responsibility to ensure workers in their facilities earn a living wage,” says Bramwell.
For information:
Dave Carr Jacquie Bramwell John McCracken
President, CUPE Local 108 CUPE National Rep. CUPE Communications Rep. 877-6133 (cell) 240-7928 (cell) (902) 455-4180 (o)