Ontario’s unionized ICI electrical contractors have announced a provincial deal with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) that will hike workers’ wages at least 6.9 per cent over three years.
The electrical contract is thought to be the first this spring among the 25 trades in the unionized ICI sector. A survey of other bargaining agencies last week found uneven progress toward deals as all three-year contracts are set to expire April 30.
“We are very pleased that we now have an agreement in place until 2028,” said Jodi Travers, labour relations manager for the Electrical Contractors Association of Ontario. “Across our organization and our sector, we value our relationship with the IBEW and we wanted to ensure that the agreement reached reflected the critical role of electrical trades in Ontario, the state of the ICI economy, and that is fair to all parties, including contractors.”
As is traditional, the Electrical Employer Bargaining Agency and the IBEW Construction Council of Ontario (CCO) also agreed to a wage escalation clause called a Post Negotiated Wage Adjustment (PNWA) that could see the final IBEW wage settlement rise in the event that subsequent deals among other ICI trades feature bigger wage hikes.
James Barry, president of the IBEW CCO, said he would decline to comment on the deal until the results of any PNWA upgrades are determined.
With the negotiating teams unable to agree on the financial package, they both submitted wage proposals to a Final Offer Selector. On April 9 the selector announced he had chosen the employers’ offer, Travers reported.
The deal gives workers $5.40 per hour over three years based on an average wage package of $76.86/hour. The first-year increase is $1.75 with five-cent increases each of the next two years.
The negotiators also agreed to a supplemental wage settlement reflecting the inflationary pressures of 2022, with IBEW arguing its members were shortchanged by the 2022 PNWA cap of $1 when inflation continued to rise after bargaining wrapped up in early February that year.
The parties agreed to a one-time adjustment to the 2022 wage settlement, hiking it from $7.05 to $8.55.
Meanwhile, Mike Gallagher, chief negotiator for the Operating Engineers Employee Bargaining Agency, said his team would be sitting down with its employers the final three days of April in an attempt to reach a deal. The operating engineers would be in a legal position to strike on May 1.
Gallagher said there has not been any “serious” bargaining yet, merely an exchange of proposals.
“I’m optimistic,” he said.
“Having said that, a lot of things can happen to change that assessment.
“We go into it with the best intentions, that’s for sure. We hope to get a settlement without having to take any job action. That would be our preference.”
Gallagher said he is encouraged that two regional sectors have reached contracts – the roadbuilders, with the Toronto and Area Road Builders Association, and sewer and watermain trades, with the Greater Toronto Sewer and Watermain Contractors Association (GTSWCA).
GTSWCA executive director Patrick McManus said two deals have been negotiated but they have not yet been ratified.
Tony Fanelli of the Operating Engineers employers stated only that negotiations were continuing and deferred questions to the Construction Employers Coordinating Council of Ontario (CECCO).
Several other negotiators on the employers’ side also referred questions to CECCO.
CECCO executive director Wayne Peterson said last week he was not aware of any other deals reached besides electrical.
Other negotiators have reported as follows:
- Craig Strudwick of the Bricklayers union said last week there are meetings scheduled with the employers this week, with some headway reported.
- Dave Gardner of the Insulators union said negotiators are still working on language, with more meetings scheduled. He has hopes of success by the end of the month.
- Brad Hill of the Ontario Pipe Trades Council stated, “ICI negotiations are going well from my perspective. There is no agreement yet with talks to resume on April 23.”
- Mark Hall, business manager of the Ontario Sheet Metal Workers and Roofers Conference, said last week both Sheet Metal and Roofing negotiations are going well with more meetings scheduled.
- Tony Bombini of the Pre-Cast Employer Bargaining Agency said a tentative deal has been reached and negotiators are hoping for ratification by the end of April.
- Sean McFarling, general counsel for LIUNA, said a memorandum of agreement has been reached with Demolition with ratification hoped for by May 4.
- The Association of Millwrighting Contractors of Ontario reported no deal as of yet with negotiations continuing.
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