City workers on strike

By Antonio D'souza
June 26, 1999

As of 8:00 am today, the city workers of Toronto are on strike. After several months of negotiations, the union was unable to reach an agreement with the city council.

The workers have not recieved a raise since 1982 and this has left them deeply disconcerted. The union wants a 6% wage increase to cover inflation but city council has repeatedly stressed that they simply do not have the funds to accommodate this wage hike.

Mayor Mel Lastman's tax freeze has been blamed for the woes facing the city. Some of his most vocal opponents have proposed that Lastman should allow the 6% wage hike to go through, for the sake of the city. Calls for him to step down have been heard as well.

Unlike the strikes that preceded it, this one has actually shut down the city. The roads are not being cleared, the garbage is not being collected and street & traffic lights no longer work, causing massive havoc to overtake the city. There are those who feel that the current state of affairs is even worse than the january ice storm.