Provincial mediation is in store for the City of Calgary’s inside workers, as there are still hurdles to leap in contract talks.
Calgary city councillors added an urgent item of business on the contract negotiations to the agenda for the Public Hearing Meeting of Council Tuesday on the eve of the mediation.
They went behind closed doors for nearly two hours, and upon the rise and report, kept all matters confidential.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 38 (CUPE 38) and the City of Calgary have been going back and forth on various issues, particularly around money and work from home. They’re roughly a half per cent apart on a contract over three years, with the City having offered nine per cent and the union wanting 10.5 per cent.
D’Arcy Lanovaz, president of CUPE Local 38, said that wages are an outstanding issue, with premiums like stand-by pay still in play. CUPE held strike training at the Calgary Telus Convention Centre over the weekend (June 1), in potential prep for job action.
“We’ve heard loud and clear from our membership, as with everybody out there, that the impact of inflation and the pressures of that on the household is significant over the last two years and so money is a huge issue,” he said.
On work from home, Lanovaz said that one of the realizations during COVID-19 was that workers can be highly productive at home. He said that initially a lot of the workers were hesitant when they were first thrust into the work-from-home environment..
“I think now that people have seen that from the technology perspective, it can be done. It’s not onerous,” he said.
“Most people feel more productive, working from home, not less productive.”
One of the other results of work from home policies during COVID was that physical work spaces changed, Lanovaz said. Now, workers are coming in under the premise of ‘hoteling’ or ‘hot spotting’ and having different spaces to work from.
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Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott said that there are still mediation opportunities and there’s a long way to go before we get to any serious labour strife.
“It’s so important that they know how valued they are because of the work that they do for the community, and we will honestly we have to work through this process,” Walcott said May 22, shortly after CUPE 38 had voted in favour of strike action.
“We know there’s so much more to go. There’s lots of mediation opportunities still.”
Ward 7 Coun. Terry Wong said that it was up to City of Calgary negotiators to find the right balance.
“In the economy today, when we take a look at inflation rates, where they’re at, and affordability for Calgarians, we certainly understand the challenges they’ve got,” he said.
“But similarly, the challenges we have… as Council and Administration, we have to take a look at the balance sheet as to who’s paying for increases on that, and are we getting value for that service.”
Lanovaz said the one thing he’s learned with contract negotiations over the years is that they are a fluid process, they’re difficult to predict and it’s tough to provide dates for strike action.
“What I can say is, if the city does not appear like they’re being serious (June 5) we will be looking at escalating pressure on this employer and that will start with a work-to-rule campaign,” he said.
That could include strict adherence to things like breaks, lunches, and no overtime. Workers would stick to their specific job description; nothing outside the confines of the job one was hired to do, Lanovaz said.
“Most of our members go over and above, and then it’s going to be challenging for the employer to get a lot of the work done,” he said.
“They’re already short-staffed for them to get everything done. It’s going to be challenging if our members abide by what they’re supposed to be doing.”
Still, Lanovaz figured a deal would be struck.
“Some people laugh at me, but I’m the eternal optimist,” he said.
