P.E.I. capital hires private crews as striking city workers demand higher wages

Contracted crews from private companies are keeping Charlottetown’s pipes flowing while the city’s own sewer and water workers are on strike.

Nearly 30 members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 830 walked off the job on July 29, after more than two-and-a-half years without a contract.

The union is calling for a 3.5 per cent wage increase, each year for four years, as well as changes to mandatory certification requirements. The city has offered annual bumps of two per cent over that time frame.

“We know this work. We are the ones that should be doing this work,” said CUPE Local 830 President Robbie Howatt.

One of the union’s picket lines has been set up outside Charlottetown City Hall, a location that turned into a point of contention. On July 30, the city sent the union a letter threatening to seek an injunction.

In the letter, the city’s chief administrative officer wrote that, while the municipality recognizes the union’s right to peacefully picket, that right does not include blocking access to or from workplaces.

A city spokesperson tells CTV News in an email statement that “it appears those concerns have now been addressed.”

Howatt said members have toned down their approach, but a protest is still a protest.

“Is there times that it does get noisy? There is no doubt about that,” he said. “But at the same time, that’s members showing their frustrations too, and I mean they have to be understanding or sympathetic about that.”

The union’s lawyer previously responded to the city, noting that Canadian courts have affirmed some inconvenience or delay in entering or exiting a striking workplace.

Wayne MacKay, a constitutional law expert and professor emeritus at Dalhousie University’s Schulich School of Law, said the municipal government would bear the burden of proof in showing that picketing had crossed into illegal territory.

“You have to be very careful to try to protect that right. Even when it may be inconvenient for other people, as long as it’s not violent and not causing undue harm,” he said.

The union says 90 per cent of its members voted in favour of the strike and it is prepared to stay off the job until an agreement is reached.

Members’ work includes maintaining wastewater systems, repairing sewer lines, conducting inspections, responding to water main breaks and ensuring the city’s water supply is safe.

The City of Charlottetown says essential services are still being provided and there will be no impact to water quality during the strike.