Hundreds of thousands of health and education workers are among those whose unions and employers will be at the negotiating table in the coming months, along with others in transport, trade, food retail and other sectors. With inflation suddenly rising to 7.7 per cent, unions and labor experts say workers will not reconcile with the typical 1-1.5 per cent annual pay rise they would have accepted a year or two ago years. “We are in a summer of work-related turmoil. There is no doubt about it,” said Larry Savage, a professor of labor studies at Brock University in St. Louis. Catharines, Ont. “Their cost of living is much higher, utilities are higher, rent is higher, food is higher and their wages have not been able to keep up. I think there is a lot of anger and a lot of resentment.” Many have already resorted to the lines, including CN Rail signal and communications workers, croupiers at the Montreal Casino and 330 workers at an e-commerce warehouse in Toronto owned by a subsidiary of Hudson’s Bay. CN Rail signal and communications workers quit their jobs across the country earlier this month. Here, workers strike at CN MacMillan Yard in Vaughan, Ont., On June 20. (Nathan Denette / The Canadian Press) On Thursday, these warehouse workers will vote on a pilot deal with HBC Logistics. Their union, Unifor, is demanding a retroactive pay rise in recognition of employees who kept online orders flowing during the pandemic. He has been without a contract since last May. “What we have seen, especially last year and this year, is a real rise in employee competitiveness,” said Lana Payne, Unifor’s secretary-treasurer. “Many workers who came out of the pandemic did not feel fully respected during this period, even though they gave what they had to ensure that our economy and society could function. This is a time when workers say ‘ enough is enough. ‘” Hudson’s Bay did not respond to a request for comment. Trade unions representing health and education workers across the country will negotiate new collective bargaining agreements for members in the coming months. Here, Manitoba health care workers who have been out of contract for five years are protesting at St. John’s Hospital. Boniface in Winnipeg on June 3rd. (Trevor Lyons / CBC)
Struggling with rising prices
Trade union leaders who spoke to CBC News said wage inflation would be at the top of their agenda during the negotiations as their members – especially those earning close to the minimum wage – struggled to make ends meet. “I had a member tell me that it costs them a day to pay for gas [to] take three days to work, “said Laura Walton, chair of the CUPE Ontario School Councils Ontario, which represents 55,000 school staff, including educators, guardians and preschoolers. “Many have moved back with their parents. Many of them have roommates to try to keep roofs over their heads.” Members of the BC General Workers’ Union – including firefighters, social workers, prison staff and drink and cannabis workers – voted in favor of the strike last week if their demands for cost of living in the province were not met. “The public sector has taken over our province for the last two and a half years. They kept the lights on, the wheels turned [and] “It will be of the utmost importance for the revival of our economy,” said union president Stephanie Smith. “I think the pandemic made people reevaluate their value.” The collective bargaining agreements for thousands of supermarket workers in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba will also expire this summer. Their union, United Food and Commercial Workers, declined to comment. A person walks past a sign thanking key Toronto employees on January 27, 2021. Frontline workers who continue to show up at their workplaces throughout the pandemic want their new contracts to reflect their contributions, say their unions. (Evan Mitsui / CBC) Payne, whose union represents other grocery workers, said there was growing frustration for company executives and shareholders reaping profits from the pandemic as workers had their “hero pay” – which ranged from a few dollars. extra time to gift cards or other benefits – ax after a few months. “There is a lack of recognition of how these profits were made, something that is on the backs of our members … Employees have the opportunity to push back and make some real profits right now,” Payne said.
Synchronization could help
Time was of the essence for more than 15,000 Ontario carpenters who went on strike in May and eventually secured a 10 percent pay rise over three years. Mike Yorke, chairman of the Carpenters District Council of Ontario, notes that other unions that negotiated new contracts several months ago – before inflation soared – locked in much lower increases for their members for years to come. “[Those] The members say, “We set up too early…. “Look at the increases that other employees are achieving,” York said. Others seem to be stuck with meager increases due to legislation. In Ontario, salary increases and benefits for some county employees – including teachers, nurses, and Metrolinx employees – are reduced by one percent per year. Trade unionists trade in Ottawa on May 11. About 15,000 Ontario carpenters went on strike for three weeks before agreeing to a new contract in late May. (Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press) However, Metrolinx CEO Phil Wester received a 13.1 percent increase last year, raising his salary to $ 838,961, plus $ 12,906 in bonuses. “This kind of nonsense … puts trading in a very difficult position,” said John Di Novo, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Canada, which is negotiating a new contract for more than 2,100 bus drivers, stations, maintenance staff and others. Metrolinx. staff. ATU Canada has asked these workers to ratify the strike – a move that could disrupt transit operations in the Toronto and Hamilton area over the summer. “Every choice is on the table,” Di Novo said. In a statement, Metrolinx said it was “impatient and optimistic” about reaching a solution, but has contingency plans to minimize downtime. ATU Canada has asked Metrolinx members to ratify the strike – a move that could disrupt transit operations in the Toronto and Hamilton areas this summer. (Evan Buhler / The Canadian Press) Given the tight labor market, employers may be more open to employee demands right now, says David Macdonald, a senior economist at the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives. “The pendulum of power shifts to the workers… There have been cases of employers returning early [before new contract negotiations] and saying, “Look, the wage increase we negotiated two years ago is not high enough, we would like to reopen these negotiations,” MacDonald said. During the pandemic, Canada did not see the same “Great Resignation” that swept the United States, with millions of workers changing jobs for better pay and conditions. But Macdonald says more workers here could be ready to make that leap if sick days, flexible working arrangements and other concessions are not paid in their next round of negotiations. The education and health unions told CBC News that some of their members are ready to consider a career if their new contracts do not reflect their higher cost of living and service during the pandemic. “You have a lot of people looking at the decisions of their lives and where they would like to work in the future,” said Karen Littlewood, president of the Ontario Secondary Teachers’ Federation, which will negotiate with the provincial government this summer.
