MPAC members vote 92% to strike in contract talks

'Municipalities are already dissatisfied with the backlogs and the creation of part-time jobs will only make things worse.' - Ivan Herrington.

Toronto (22 March 2010) - Employees of Ontario's Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) have voted 92% to strike if necessary to gain modest improvements in working conditions and to fight MPAC demands for concessions.

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE) says this is the first time the members it represents at MPAC have had to take a strike vote since 1999.

Ivan Herrington, chair of the OPSEU bargaining team, says the big issue is an MPAC proposal to create part-time jobs within the agency.

“This is an ill-considered cost-saving exercise by MPAC, considering they are spending millions on consultants and giving huge raises to top-level managers,” Herrington argues.

“Municipalities are already dissatisfied with the backlogs and the creation of part-time jobs will only make things worse.”

Herrington says MPAC wants to slash benefits and refuses to implement fair hiring practices.

“We have demands on the bargaining table for modest improvements but our biggest concerns are for what the employer is trying to take away from members,” he notes.

"We don’t want a labour disruption but this employer needs to know we are very serious about preserving our collective agreement.”

OPSEU president Warren (Smokey) Thomas says MPAC should focus on improving services, not cutting jobs back to part-time.

“In 2006 the Ontario Ombudsman said MPAC was grossly understaffed," Thomas recalls." MPAC needs more full-time jobs, not some scheme to introduce part-time workers.”

NUPGE

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE