Please keep an eye on this page for any updates.
March 8, 2025 update:
Early this morning, CUPE Local 79 and the City reached a tentative 4-year agreement, averting a strike. The union membership will vote on the agreement in the coming days and if ratified, it will be adopted at City Council.
March 5, 2025 update:
CUPE Local 79 has stated that any potential strike action will occur no sooner than Monday, March 10. The City has provided a final offer which it says will ensure wages above minimum wage for all Local 79 workers, and provide wage increases for certain jobs--childcare workers, personal support workers and registered nurses--that goes above the more broadly offered 15% pay increase over four years. Details are below.
A labour strike on March 10 would still disrupt summer camps run by Parks and Recreation. Refunds will be offered in this event.
Some highlights of the City’s offer include:
- Eliminating minimum wage for ALL workers.
- Offering a 14.65 per cent increase to all positions over four years with a minimum of a 3.95 per cent increase in year one, nearly double the current rate of inflation.
The City recognizes that many members of Local 79 are predominantly women and racialized workers such as nurses, child care aides and personal support workers. While City child care workers are already among the best paid in the sector, the City strives to set an example for all employers and is offering the following targeted investments for these specific roles over four years:
- Child care aides – 16.7 per cent
- Personal support workers – 16.8 per cent
- Registered nurses - 22 per cent
Additionally, the City is offering an increase of 29.65 per cent to call takers and emergency medical dispatchers over four years.
The City has also offered to increase guarantees of daily hours and increase the number of guaranteed shifts per pay period for staff working in long-term care homes. These moves will help staff have more stability and predictability in their assignments.
The City’s offer also includes:
- New gender affirming care benefit and family building benefit
- Vision care benefits increase
- Paramedical benefits increase
- Increased access to join the benefit plan for part-time staff
March 3, 2025 update:
As your City Councillor, I believe in fair bargaining, competitive wages and benefits, and the health, safety, and wellbeing of staff so we can retain them. While we all hope that a labour strike can be avoided, these kinds of negotiations are critical. The City cannot achieve its goals without a healthy and motivated workforce.
Who does CUPE Local 79 Represent?
CUPE Local 79 broadly represents "inside" workers at the City, and includes, but is not limited to:
- 311 Toronto;
- Children's Services;
- City Clerk's Office;
- City Planning/Development and Growth Services;
- Corporate Real Estate Management;
- Economic Development and Culture;
- Housing Secretariat;
- Legal Services;
- Long-term Care;
- Parks and Recreation;
- Revenue Services;
- Social Development, Finance & Administration;
- Solid Waste Management;
- Toronto Building;
- Toronto Public Health;
- Toronto Water;
- Toronto Shelter and Support Services; and
- Transportation Services.
Many of these divisions have "outside" workers that are in unions other than CUPE Local 79 (notably, CUPE Local 416). So many frontline services like garbage pick-up will not be impacted by any labour disruption by CUPE Local 79.
Why is CUPE Local 79 threatening to strike?
The main pinch point is wages, which the union is blaming for issues with recruitment and retention. CUPE Local 79 argues that the existing wages for the average inside worker are not high enough to meet the cost of living in Toronto. This concerns includes ensuring that all workers–notably, part-time recreation workers–are paid above minimum wage.
The City is offering a pay raise of 15% over four years, similar to what the "outside" workers in CUPE Local 416 received late last year. CUPE Local 79 is arguing that this is not enough to provide a "living wage" for its members. The City is offering to pay 92% of its part-time workers above minimum wage, and special wage adjustments for certain occupations.
You can learn more about negotiations on both the City website and the CUPE Local 79 website.
What will be the potential impact of any strike action?
There are a number of disruptions that may occur, but it will be difficult to know the full extent until each division can review what services and programming can continue under a strike, and which cannot. The goal will be to maintain essential City services during any labour disruption however.
Based on when CUPE Local 79 last striked in 2009, disruptions could include, but are not limited to:
- City-run recreation centres may close or limit services, including access to pools and camp summer programming;
- City-run day care facilities may close or limit services;
- Applying to permits and licenses, including building permits, sign permits and business licenses may be halted;
- Public Health inspections, including for restaurants and city beaches, may be halted; and
- Community consultations, such as for zoning by-law amendments, will likely be put on hold.
In some cases, such as operations that have a user fee such as recreation camps, refunds will be issued in the event of a labour disruption. Management within the impacted divisions will continue to work, although at a significantly reduced capacity.
The City will provide information on what the impacts will be to the public on its website.
What services will not be impacted?
The City Manager has said that the following services will not be impacted by any strike action:
- Emergency Services, including ambulance and fire services;
- City-run shelters;
- Toronto Transit Commission;
- Toronto Community Housing;
- City-run long-term care homes;
- Garbage collection; and
- Drinking water testing/quality.
How long would a strike be expected to last?
During a labour dispute of this potential nature, it often comes down to which side can outlast the other. There is no set timeline for when workers will be forced back to week. For the City, it will be encouraged to reach an agreement if there is political pressure to resume normal services. For CUPE Local 79 workers, all compensation from the City ends, so the loss of wages and benefits may eventually push the union to accept an agreement. But there is no legislated requirement than a strike end by a certain date.
In 2009 when CUPE Local 79 undertook strike action alongside CUPE Local 416, the strike lasted approximately five weeks. A big pressure point in that strike was the lack of garbage pick-up, resulting in the City controversially directing residential waste to 19 locations across the City, which included parkland. As CUPE Local 416's outside workers reached an agreement with the City, this visible impact will be not be present.
What alternatives does my family have for March Break activities?
I’ve compiled a list of City-run facilities that will be open during March Break. Please visit my March Break webpage for more information.
I have an issue. How can I get it resolved during the strike?
311 Toronto will continue to operate during any potential labour strike, although potentially at a reduced capacity. If you need immediate assistance, you can contact our office at [email protected] or by texting (437) 292-4963 to report any issues. Please include as much detail as you can including a photo if possible. Our office appreciates your patience as it will still be challenging to action out issues during any strike action.
