Public works employees in the municipality of NS on strike for wages and protections for temporary workers

Unionized public works employees in the Queens Borough Region are striking after failing to reach an agreement on wages, weekend worker compensation and protections for temporary employees, among other issues.

Jim Sponagle, business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1928, said workers are employed in areas such as water treatment, wastewater treatment, solid waste and infrastructure maintenance.

The union says up to 40 workers are involved. However, Pam Lovelace, the municipality’s acting CAO, said only about 20 workers are on strike.

The municipality posted a notice on its website stating that all Municipal services will continue as normal. during the strike.

Workers went on strike Thursday morning after submitting notice of their intention to do so on December 20. The municipality subsequently issued a lockout notice.

Sponagle said the township’s unionized workers are paid significantly less than their counterparts in other jurisdictions.

The council’s latest offer of pay rises of 1.5 per cent in the first year and 2 per cent in the following two years was unacceptable given the rising cost of living, he said.

Another area of ​​controversy, Sponagle said, is the township’s proposal to compensate for weekend work during regular hours.

The status of temporary workers has long been a point of contention between the parties, he said.

“Temporary employees have been in our collective bargaining agreement for 40 years and will continue to be in our agreement.” Sponagle said. “However, the Queens Region’s legal counsel seems to suggest that they are not in the union.”

Lovelace said only a “small group of workers” are on strike and that non-union staff have stepped in to ensure the municipality continues to operate without interruption.

He said the lockout of striking workers was implemented to ensure that workplace conflicts did not arise between union members and non-union members.

“We hope to get the union back to the table so we can put an end to this,” Lovelace said.

“We haven’t had a strike in Liverpool for a long time. So for a lot of people it’s new to have to deal with it.”