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Safety concerns rise as Hamilton water operators strike reaches day two
The City of Hamilton is responding to safety concerns as workers at Hamilton’s water and wastewater plants have reached the second day of their strike.
While the workers at the Woodward Avenue Wastewater Treatment Plant continue to talk about safety at the plant, the city says the water will be treated properly and delivered without interruption.
“I want to reassure residents that the drinking water is safe and that essential services are still operating without interruption,” said Marnie Cluckie, the City Manager for the City of Hamilton.
The 54 operations staff at the Woodward Avenue Wastewater Treatment Facility are on the second day of strike action.
Their two main concerns are the levels of certification needed they are required to have, and pay parity with other operations staff across the board.
“Our top rate is about $3 shy of what the distribution and collection guys have, and they only require one license and one discipline,” said Rob Filice, a wastewater treatment operator. “We require four licenses and four disciplines.”
“This is a public health issue, and an environmental issue,” said Greg Hoath, the business manager at the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 722.
There is concern among striking workers regarding the expertise of those filling in during the labour disruption.
“We everyday know what it means to make an error, that’s why we are certified,” said Hoath. “We can lose our license if we don’t operate accordingly. I think if you have people in there that are not licensed, they have nothing to lose.”
According to the City of Hamilton, there is more than enough non-union management staff who have the experience and training to continue operations without interruption.
“There are staff with years and decades of experience within this water utility and others,” said Nick Winters, the Director of Hamilton Water. “Many of whom have performed operational roles early on in their careers.”
The City of Hamilton says negotiations began with Hamilton Ontario Water Employees Association (HOWEA) union in late December, which is one of 11 units who represent thousands of unionized city workers during this round of bargaining.
The city says so far eight agreements have been renewed with offers similar to the one presented to HOWEA/Local 772.
“The offer that the city presented to the bargaining unit is consistent with the offers across the other bargaining units that we’ve been negotiating [with] in this round of bargaining,” said Yakov Sluchenkov, the Director of Employee Health and Labour Relations for the City of Hamilton.
The two sides say they are continuing to communicate, but so far there’s no word on any deal.
WATCH MORE: Hamilton water and wastewater workers go on strike
