Iqaluit workers prepare to walk off job

DENISE RIDEOUT

IQALUIT — A municipal workers strike is looming in Iqaluit.

Municipal workers say they could walk off the job as early as tomorrow if contract talks collapse between the union and the Town of Iqaluit.

The union says a strike would put a halt to garbage collection, close the Town’s recreation facilities and possibly cut down on water and sewage services.

The two sides were scheduled to meet with a conciliator on March 21 to try to avoid a strike.

The union, representing about 80 municipal workers, entered the negotiations armed with an overwhelming strike mandate. Two days earlier, the workers voted 96.25 per cent in favour of striking if the talks break down.

“It was a really clear message from the members that they were tired of the way the employer has been treating them and the fact that we haven’t had any percentage salary increases for quite some time,” said Doug Workman, the spokesperson for the union.

“The goal is not to go on strike. Our goal is to get a collective agreement that we can live with,” Workman said.

Throughout the week, Town and union leaders were squabbling over when a legal strike could take place.

While Mayor John Matthews maintains that a strike can not be called until April 11, the union argues that it had the right to walk off the job by March 24.

A Town strike could affect everything from garbage pick-up to snow clearing. Many of the Town’s recreation facilities, such as the swimming pool and arena, would likely be forced to close.

Town officials said water and sewer services would not be cut or reduced.

But the union has said a strike would reduce those services.

In a flyer it handed out to Iqaluit residents last weekend, the union said “there will likely be some significant drops in service as we struggle to provide essential services to all residents on an equitable basis.”

Rick Butler, the Town’s chief administrative officer, said there’s an agreement in place that requires municipal workers to provide essential services — including water and sewer services — in the event of a strike.

“We just want to say that no one will go without water,” Butler said.

The main issues on the negotiation table are salaries and living allowances.

Town workers are asking for a salary increase, improvements in their living allowance, and retroactive pay to their last collective agreement, which expired in 1999.

Workman said municipal employees haven’t had a pay increase since 1993 and have been without a collective agreement since 1999.

“For us we think it’s a very reasonable package that we put forward,” Workman said.

The Town says their demands are extreme.

“Our position is that it’s not a fair increase. Their request is just too high,” John Matthews said at a press conference this week.

Matthews said that in order to meet the employee’s demands it would have to cut some staff and services. Another route would be to raise property owners’ taxes by more than $400 a year.

The Town is offering the union an increase of $467,000 and said it’s willing to negotiate cost-of-living increases.

“We’re very optimistic that we can work things out,” Matthews said. “Strikes are always unfortunate.”

With files from Aaron Spitzer