It will be business as usual for city operations today, but that's not likely to last.
Though unionized staff were prepared to walk out this afternoon, the strike notice issued Dec. 9 was struck down by the B.C. Labour Relations Board.
This was because no agreement on essential services had been reached, explained Canadian Union of Public Employees local 1-48 president Janet Bigelow.
The Labour Relations Board issued an interim essential services order Wednesday afternoon.
A new 72-hour strike notice was submitted Tuesday afternoon and officially received Wednesday morning.
"On Saturday morning at 8 a.m. we will be in a legal position to strike - we will be taking strike action," said Bigelow, adding picket lines will be set up "wherever there's city services being offered on a weekend - so arenas, the pool, the Civic Centre, anywhere where there's services that are provided on a Saturday by city workers."
Following a hearing on Dec. 9 and 10, the interim essential services agreement as decided by the Labour Relations Board includes three shifts of snow clearing staff and police support services staff.
"If the city wants to call people [into] the work this weekend to take care of the snow plowing, as always the city workers are committed to delivering the best service possible," Bigelow said. "We will be there if management decides that they will be calling in extra shifts to work this weekend, as we normally are."
According to operations superintendent Bill Gaal, the interim order "pretty well allows for a full complement of [snow clearing staff]."
Essential staff are also found in the fleet services department with light and heavy duty mechanics, technicians and a welder needed Monday through Friday. Fire department payroll staff are essential only every two weeks for payroll processing. There are eight wastewater collection and treatment staff deemed essential as are four employees for water plants and distribution.
Staff to be made available on call include a water pump house operator, an engineering assistant for problems with the district energy system, an electrician to tend to civic facilities, and an animal control officer. The only solid waste staff mentioned in the agreement are those to handle spill responses of material less than 100 litres and bobcat and back hoe operators. A utility digging crew also has to be on-call at all hours. Cemetery staff are also on call for purchasing plots and burials.
The agreement is subject to change, said Bigelow.
"There are no dates to go back, but right now we'll use the interim order that's in place and then as soon as we can, we'll get back with the city and the adjudicator to finish it off," she said.
There also haven't been any dates set for the city and its unionized employees to return to the bargaining table, a move both sides have said they're ready to make.
"We are more than willing to meet with the city to bargain if they want to bring something new to the table. The last time they came to the table, they brought close to the same thing," said Bigelow. "It's up to mayor and council to look at their mandate. It's their decision to change their mandate and then this will be all done."
In a press release, the city said it is the union that was unprepared to meet "on many occasions."
The release also laid out a schedule of wage increases for city management staff over the five-year term of CUPE's previous collective agreement, varying from three per cent to 2.5 per cent increases.
"These increases compare with three per cent annual increases for CUPE workers during the same period," said the press release. "No management increases have been offered for 2014 or are planned for 2014."
But it's not a fair comparison, said Bigelow. Not when you're comparing the actual dollar increase to salaries of someone such as the city manager to an entry-level employee.
"If you want to compare a 2.8 per cent increase on a wage of over $200,000 to a two per cent increase on a wage of $40,000 - the numbers talk right there," Bigelow said.
