Black River-Matheson lockout still a stalemate after 3 months

The employee lockout in the Township of Black River-Matheson has now reached three months, with both sides holding strong to their positions while saying they want a resolution.

The central dispute is changes to the wage grid for township employees. The union calls the municipality's proposal a 'two-tier' structure, in which newer employees will have to navigate a longer pay grid than existing workers.

The existing system is a year at a probationary wage, before workers reach the full job rate. Under the proposed grid, there will be five steps with four per cent increases between them, until the worker reaches the job rate.

The probation period would last six months, and the remaining steps would take a year each. All current workers would be moved to the top band of the proposed five-tier system.

"The municipality feels that we've provided them with an offer that's more than fair," said Black River-Matheson CAO Chris Wray.

The workers' previous contract expired on March 31, 2023. Black River-Matheson locked out its workers on Oct. 15, 2023. The lockout affects 14 unionized workers in the public works and recreation departments, as well as some office staff.

Union 'shocked' over proposal

CUPE Local 1490 treasurer and bargaining committee member Tom Pullen said the union and township had not spoken since before the Christmas holidays.

He said there was optimism that a deal might be possible, but the township changed the structure of its proposed wage tiers. Now, instead of a two-per-cent gap between each of the five steps, the township proposed a four-per-cent gap.

"We're still kind of a little bit shocked," Pullen said. "They've decided to take their tier system and make it even worse than what it already was."

However, Wray said four per cent was the original proposal. In earlier negotiations, the township reduced it to two per cent, but raised it back to four per cent when it agreed to give workers a 14 per cent raise over the next four years.

Considering next steps

Pullen said the union would be meeting this week to discuss their response to the municipality's latest offer.

Wray said the township was exploring the idea of holding a supervised vote. If it chose that option, the Ministry of Labour would oversee an electronic, secret ballot so the union members could vote on the township's last offer.

Should that vote fail, another possibility could be arbitration, though both sides would have to agree to that.

"We just want to get back to work," said Pullen. "We're not asking for any more than what non-union staff got."

Impacts to the township

Effective last week, the township reduced its office hours. The municipal office is now closed on Mondays, open only in afternoons from Tuesday to Thursday, and all day on Friday.

Previously, the municipality's hockey rink was also closed. Wray said the roads contractor has an employee with the skills to manage such facilities, so they reopened the rink with the help of volunteers.

Wray said the contractors looking after the snow removal have been working well, and the township has not received more complaints this year than last.

Pullen said the municipality appeared to be struggling to clear snow after recent storms.