Toronto homeowners may have to pay hundreds of dollars more this year as the city is proposing to increase property taxes by 6.9 per cent to fund its $18.8 billion 2025 budget. Toronto City Hall is pictured in Toronto, Saturday, March 4, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey.
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Nearly 30,000 unionized municipal employees in Toronto could go on strike next month.
The City of Toronto says it has received a no-board report from the Ontario Ministry of Labour, which would put the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 79 in a legal strike position, and the city in a legal lockout position, at 12:01 a.m. on March 8.
CUPE Local 79 represents roughly 27,000 workers including those in public health, court services, child care, ambulance dispatch, shelters, water and food inspection and long-term care.
The union said last week it had officially requested a no-board report.
It says more than 90 per cent of members have voted in favour of a strike mandate.
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The city says it is committed to the bargaining process and is still waiting for a response to its latest proposal, which was tabled Monday.
The city says in a statement that contingency plans are in place to continue delivering critical services in the event of a labour disruption.
CUPE has said wages are a sticking point in the negotiations after members endured “years of stagnating wages amid rising inflation.”
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