Hamilton water operators go on strike demanding better pay from the city
At the Woodward Avenue Treatment Plant, 54 workers are picketing, said Greg Hoath, business manager of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 772, on behalf of the Hamilton Ontario Water Employees Association.
They oversee the water purifying process as well as the discharge of waste water, he said.
The city has said in a news release, well maintenance and water testing will continue "without interruption" and it has contingency plans to "maintain critical facilities operations" to ensure clean water continues to flow.
However, the workers on strike are "genuinely concerned," said Hoath.
"We know what it takes in there, and there's no way they have enough bodies that are certified," he said.
At the same time, workers have faced two major issues that haven't been addressed for two decades, said Hoath.
The first is operators are required to get four, "Level 3" certifications but are paid less than a different group of workers who are only required to have one, "Level 1" certification, said Hoath.
The union wants to close that gap by increasing the pay of its members by six per cent over four years, he said.
The second issue is that if operators want to reach the top pay rate, they have to undergo on-the-job training, but it can take the city as long as 10 years to facilitate it, he said.
The city did not respond to a request for comment before publication.
It said, on its website Tuesday, it has been in negotiations with the union since last December.
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