Toronto City Council unanimously ratifies collective agreements with CUPE Local 79

Today, City Council unanimously ratified the four (4) five-year agreements with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 79, the union representing the City’s 24,000 inside workers. This follows the ratification by CUPE Local 79 members on June 27.

The City and the union reached a negotiated settlement in March 2020, however the COVID-19 response efforts prevented ratification until now.

The details of the 5-year agreement include:

• Wage increases
  1% per year for the first three year and 1.75% per year for the last two years
• Cap on erectile dysfunction drugs
• Dependents 18 years of age and under are able to obtain up to three pairs of orthotics or orthopedic devices a year
• Establishment of the Joint Benefits Committee to continue to work on the affordability and sustainability of the City’s benefit program
• Increased the maximum amount for psychologist services from $300 per benefit year to $1,000 per benefit year
• Changes to parental leave that fairly address recent changes to the Federal EI program, while increasing the top-up percentage so employees can receive the increased top-up payments for up to 12 months or elect to spread the same dollar value of the top-up payments over a period of up to 18 months.
• Continue to limit job security to employees who have reached 15 years seniority with the cut-off date extended to as of December 31, 2024.

CUPE Local 79 represents four bargaining units: Full-time; Unit B, Part-time; Long-Term Care Homes & Services, Part-time; and Recreation Workers, Part-time.

In March, the City reached a final agreement with TCEU Local 416 that was also ratified by the union membership and approved by City Council.

Quotes:

“I’m pleased that we came to a fair agreement in these negotiations. COVID-19 delayed our ratification, but today we have a five-year agreement that is timely, affordable, and responsible. I’d like to thank our staff who are continuing to deliver excellent services for our city during this pandemic. I appreciate their dedication and hard work for our residents.”

– Mayor John Tory

“The bargaining committees for both City and CUPE Local 79 worked hard to come to an agreement without a labour disruption. I thank them for their efforts in delivering a fair outcome for both employees and the residents of our city.”

– Deputy Mayor Denzil Minnan-Wong, Chair of the Collective Bargaining Subcommittee

 

Toronto is home to more than 2.9 million people whose diversity and experiences make this great city Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities. As the fourth largest city in North America, Toronto is a global leader in technology, finance, film, music, culture and innovation, and consistently places at the top of international rankings due to investments championed by its government, residents and businesses. For more information visit toronto.ca or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CityofToronto, on Instagram at instagram.com/cityofto or on Facebook at facebook.com/cityofto.