City assures residents water is safe amid ongoing worker strike

As Hamilton water employees enter their third week on the picket line, negotiations between the city and union are at a standstill.

With no end to the strike in sight, the city called a last minute press conference Wednesday afternoon to assure Hamiltonians that their water is safe to drink.

The city’s update comes the same day that striking members of the Hamilton Ontario Water Employees Association (HOWEA) disrupted Wednesday’s city council meeting.

Fifty-five of Hamilton’s water employees have been on strike for two weeks, and the union has raised questions about the quality of city water while the workers are off the job – especially when images of murky tap water emerged from Stoney Creek.

The city says there’s no risk, and the murky water happened during a planned water main construction.

READ MORE: Striking Hamilton Water operators spend Victoria Day on picket lines

Union members say they’re striking for wage parity with other city employees. But the city says its offer two weeks ago is consistent with the city council’s financial mandate.

“I really want to start this off by assuring Hamiltonians unequivocally that their water, that our water is indeed absolutely safe. I felt it important to provide some facts for Hamiltonians regarding water safety because unfortunately there have been some troubling claims circulating about the safety of Hamilton’s drinking water,” said Hamilton mayor Andrea Horwath.

“So the issues were only two to start with in bargaining, and they remain two. There’s an issue of internal parity with other city workers, and so it’s a reasonable request. I mean, the price tag is $300,000 to the tax payers and city council, we witnessed today, spent $1.3 million in about five minutes,” said Greg Hoath from HOWEA.

The union and the city met Monday when the union presented its latest offer. The city says it widened the gap between the two sides, and so there’s no bargaining dates set in the future.

READ MORE: Hamilton water and wastewater workers go on strike