As the Region of Waterloo’s outdoor workers strike passes the three week mark, the region’s acting CAO said there are no plans to open municipal waste facilities for the public.
CUPE Local 1656, the union representing the Region of Waterloo’s outdoor workers including water, airport services, regional road maintenance, landfill services and emergency vehicle maintenance, officially went on strike on March 4 after negotiations failed.
The union is calling for a higher wage increase for its members to keep up with the rising cost of living.
A Monday press release from the union said it met with the Region of Waterloo over the weekend to exchange proposals but were unable to come to an agreement.
“Three weeks into our strike, Karen Redman and the Region of Waterloo Council continues to move the goalposts on us,” said CUPE 1656 president Phil Dominas, in a press release. “We went in on the weekend thinking we would be able to negotiate a fair deal, but the employer continues to backtrack on commitments they made to us in negotiations and demand that we settle for less.”
While some operations such as water and airport services have been maintained by management and management support staff, the Waterloo and Cambridge waste facilities have remained closed since the strike.
Mathieu Goetzke, acting CAO for the region, said they are focusing on not changing anything to curbside collection for residents and there is no plan for the public to be able to drop-off their waste at either facility.
“Hold on to your spring cleaning items for now,” Goetzke said. “We understand it’s quite inconvenient but that’s what we can recommend today.”
Residents have the option of using a private waste disposal service or go further afield to other municipal landfills if allowed.
Cameron Walsh, division manager of solid waste resources for the City of Guelph, said the neighbouring municipality has not seen a noticeable increase in use at its waste resource facilities during the strike period.
He confirmed out-of-town residents are allowed to use Guelph’s public drop-off facilities at 110 Dunlop Dr., with the exception of the household hazardous waste depot.
When asked, the Region of Waterloo said in an email it has not seen a rise in illegal dumping during this period.
Goetzke said there are well under 100 people doing the work of those on strike which totals around 240.
For now, the acting CAO said the region has deferred the initiation of new capital projects to focus on daily operations.
“This is the time of year when we start to get construction started and so now we’re deferring that,” he said. “It’s better than if we were in full construction season but there's a few projects where we’re seeing that we’re not ready to go to tender or initiate construction early April.”
He stressed management and management support staff all have the proper qualifications and certifications where it's required, such as in the water services department which is highly regulated.
Goetzke said the region is hopeful this strike will be resolved soon and services will resume as normal.
“Our members have been very clear- they will not settle for less,” Dominas said, in a press release. “We will be on strike for as long as we have to in order to get the deal we were promised.”