Negotiations are coming down to the wire between the Region of Waterloo and approximately 850 frontline workers with public health, transit, libraries, housing and more. If they can’t reach a deal before 12:01 a.m. Saturday, the union representing those employees will be in a legal strike position. CUPE Local 1883 previously told CTV News that members had already voted for job action. The union also said 10 per cent of the region’s frontline workers have been lost since 2021. The community, however, has grown by an estimated 100,000 residents. Employees feel that further reductions to the workforce would make it harder to provide critical public services. The union said the main sticking points are job security and staffing. “We want to reach a deal through bargaining,” insisted CUPE Local 1883’s Jeremy Turner. “We want to make sure that we’re providing the public services that our members provide every day. That’s ultimately what this is about. We’ve had lots of cuts over the last few years… and we want to make sure that we’re able to provide those services to the community.” A provincial mediator has been brought in to help with negotiations. If no agreement is reached by midnight, disruptions to regional services are possible. A spokesperson for the Region of Waterloo said, out of respect for the bargaining process, they will not comment on the negotiations.
