TORONTO – Mark Ferguson had some strong words to describe the negotiation tactics of the city of Toronto in a press conference on Friday morning, saying the city is taking part in 'union busting' tactics.
Mark Ferguson, the President of CUPE 416, along with Maureen O’Reilly, President of the union representing library workers, held a press conference Friday morning to voice their concerns about bargaining tactics.
Mark Ferguson said at the press conference, that “very little has been agreed to,” and encourages the city’s bargaining team “to get serious.” Ferguson also alleged that the city’s negotiation tactics and insistence on contracting out services could be labelled as “union busting” and a “payback for 2009.”
City councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong though said the city is hopeful a resolution can be reached before the strike deadline. "Whenever they want to come to the table, we will be there." Minnan-Wong said.
Negotiations heated up recently when the city filed for a “no board report,” signalling that negotiations had broken down. That move set a deadline that could put the city in a work stoppage situation in early February. Both Mark Ferguson and Maureen O’Reilly expressed concern for the deadline, characterizing it as, “an artificial deadline.”
Since negotiations began, city of Toronto officials have said that the negotiations come down to language, rather than pay, and focus strongly on the “jobs for life” clause.
CUPE has plans to meet with the city on Friday.
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