Black River-Matheson employee lockout in third week over wage grid dispute

Fourteen workers at the Township of Black River-Matheson, Ont. have been locked out since Oct. 15.

Black River-Matheson Mayor Doug Bender told CBC News that talks with CUPE Local 1490 which represents full-time employees with public works, recreation and some accountants have been on hold since the lockout started.

"We've heard absolutely nothing from the union, except for probably the day after the lockout occurred," Bender said.

At issue is what the union is calling a "two-tier" wage system which would place new employees on a lower pay grid than existing workers.

But Bender said it's not a two-tier system, but would instead add additional levels to the pay scale that is already in place.

He added the municipality provided the union with some documentation clarifying how the system would work, and hasn't heard back since then.

"If there's no interest in negotiating, well obviously there won't be any settlement," Bender said.

But Tom Pullen, a public works employee with the township, and a trustee with CUPE Local 1490, said the union is still looking for more clarity on how the proposed wage grid would work.

"What would it mean for existing workers for promotions?" he said.

Pullen added all employees with the township should be treated equally, whether they have worked there for a while or are new.

"I think it's unfortunate that the residents in the community have to be put through this just over this wage grid," he said.

Services affected

With the municipal workers locked out, Bender said the township had to close the local arena, without support staff to keep it running.

"Our local minor hockey association has determined they didn't want to try to operate a season without having you know some surety that the arena would be open in the immediate future," he said.

The municipality has hired contractors to do road maintenance, he said, but they haven't had capacity to work on improvements just maintaining what's in place.

"It's far from being perfect, far from where we really would like it to be, but it's not too bad right now," Bender said.

He added there are also arrangements with contractors for snow removal, if the lockout continues into the winter.