Mississauga mayor says Peel garbage strike ‘could go on a month’ but hopes for speedy resolution

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Published December 8, 2021 at 10:15 am

The mayor of Mississauga said there’s no way to tell how long the waste collection strike in Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon could last as workers went back on the picket line for a third day.

“You can’t predict these things – they could go on a day, they could go on a month,” Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie said in an interview with insauga.com on Tuesday.

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Workers at Emterra Environment went on strike on Monday after negotiations between the company and their union broke down.

The strike has led to an indefinite freeze on all recycling, bulky item and yard waste across the Region of Peel. Organics will not be collected on designated recycling weeks but will instead be collected on garbage weeks.

Emterra is one of two companies contracted by the Region for waste collection, and the company’s union says workers aren’t being paid the same as other waste collectors hired by the Region’s other waste management firm.

Crombie declined to comment on whether all waste collectors contacted by the Region should be paid the same, but did say she believes “in equity and fairness” and respects the worker’s right to strike.

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Some 150,000 households could be impacted, but Crombie said multi-residential homes won’t be affected and recycling depots are still open during the strike.

The mayor urged residents to check the Region’s a map of impacted areas on its website to see if they are in an affected area.

Emterra Environmental workers previously went on strike in Peel back in 2016, and that strike ended after just one day of picketing.

Crombie hoped this recent work action would be over quickly, but the mayor said there is “no timeline” to when the strike will end.

“They’re in contract negotiations, so that could go smoothly and be resolved quickly or it could go longer,” she said. “We just don’t know.”

Jack Oliveira, business manager for LiUNA Local 183 which represents the Emterra workers, said the picketers want to get back to work but not until Emterra comes to the table with “a fair offer.”

But Emterra said the union has already been presented “a fair and competitive, fully recommended deal.”

The company is asking the union to reconsider the strike action “given the impact this disruption could have on residents in the community, the environment, as well as our employees and their families.”

Anyone impacted by the strike should continue to put garbage and organics at the curb on your garbage collection day and leave garbage and organics at the curb until further notice.

Check peelregion.ca/waste for further updates or follow Public Works on Twitter for updated service information.

Note: an earlier version of this story said negotiations were between Emterra, LiUNA Local 183 and the Region of Peel. The negotiations are between Emterra and LiUNA Local 183.

 

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