Whitby, Ont. – Town of Whitby municipal workers are set to go on strike February 4, at 12:01 am, if mediation talks between their employer and Local 53 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) fail to produce a fair deal for the 230 ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ workers. Mediation talks are scheduled for January 31, 2008.
“It seems the city is more interested in pushing us to go on strike than offering us a fair deal,” said Karen Wilson, president of CUPE 53. “Conciliation talks were not productive because management continued to treat our members like second class citizens – we will not stand for this and will take action to achieve fairness and respect.”
CUPE 53 is seeking a similar deal to what other municipal workers achieved with the same employer. “Our members work just as hard as other municipal employees, and we just want our work to be respected and recognized with a fair deal,” said Wilson. “We are sincerely hoping that management will come to mediation with an intention to settle, otherwise we will end up in a strike situation that nobody wants.”
The workers’ contract expired on March 31, 2007. Outstanding issues include wages and benefits.
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For further information, please contact:
Karen Wilson Betty Sommers James Chai
CUPE 53 President CUPE National Rep. CUPE Communications
905-925-2873 905-439-7044 416-292-3999