3 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,January 16,2020 insidehalton.com • Great Wine List • 17 Beers on Tap • Great New Menu • Multiple TV's FAMILY RUN FOR YOUR FAMILY FUN! Check out our totally renovated restaurant with the Elvis Room, Ratpack Lounge and plenty of room for you and your family, friends or co-workers to relax, unwind and catch up. INFO@THESTOUTMONK.COM THESTOUTMONK.COMFollow us @thestoutmonk: 478 Dundas St. W., Oakville • (905) 257-4004 • www.thestoutmonk.com Now showing Premier League every Saturday and Sunday • WEEKLY FEATURES • Monday is Wing Night Tuesday is Ladies' Night Every Day Soup & Sandwich Combo Breakfast 9AM to Noon Saturday and Sunday Enjoy Bacon & Eggs, Egg Burgers or Steak and Eggs Live Music every Saturday night after the hockey game Football Sunday Dozens of office workers with the Town of Oakville took to the streets on Tues- day, Jan. 7 calling for fair treatment as collective bar- gaining with their employ- er continues. The workers, who are represented by the Canadi- an Union of Public Employ- ees (CUPE) Local 1329, used their lunch break to wave signs and solicit honks from passing motorists during an information ral- ly near town hall. CUPE 1329 President and Town building inspec- tor Stephen Dingwall said the 330 workers re- presented by Local 1329 have been without a con- tract since February 2019. "We've organized this information rally because we've been in talks for 300 days and we've had no suc- cess," said Dingwall. "We are committed to finding a solution. We're committed to getting things resolved and con- tinuing to provide services to the people." Dingwall said a major issue the union wants to see addressed in a new col- lective agreement is job se- curity. He voiced concerns about the Town's use of contractors and hiring of part-time workers. "Residents are over- whelmingly satisfied with the service we provide, but there is clearly something wrong when people with a 96 per cent customer satis- faction rate have zero per cent job security," said Dingwall. Workers at the rally waved signs reading, "Most Livable Town In Canada - WTF? Where's the Fair- ness?" Another sign read, "Oakville Most Livable? Not without us," while an- other said, "Negotiate Fair- ly! The union is!" Dingwall said the rally comes as the union pre- pares to enter two days of bargaining with the Town. He said a provincially- appointed conciliation offi- cer will be present to assist. If no agreement is reached, additional negoti- ations will be scheduled. Local 1329 represents full-time office workers employed at 25 different lo- cations, including arena and recreation facilities, central operations, the Oakville Fire Department, town hall, Oakville Tran- sit, Oakville Hydro, har- bours and the Oakville Centre for Performing Arts. Some of the services provided by Local 1329 members include adminis- trative support, building plans review and inspec- tions, council support ser- vices, facilities and con- struction management, municipal bylaw and park- ing enforcement and finan- cial, payroll and tax servic- es. In the event a strike did take place Dingwall noted many Town services would be hampered, as would es- sential projects like the Lakeshore Road Recon- struction Project. "Let's get it straight though. A strike is the fur- thest thing from our minds," said Dingwall. "The solution is right here. It is up to the Town to come to the table and re- solve this." When reached for com- ment, the Town of Oak- ville's director of strategy, policy and communica- tions Jane Courtemanche said the Town is currently in active bargaining with CUPE 1329. She said in August 2019 the Town negotiated a con- tract settlement with CUPE 136, which repre- sents close to 250 full-time municipal and seasonal workers with the Town of Oakville. Courtemanche said the Town remains committed to reaching a similar out- come with CUPE 1329. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: We attended the information rally held by CUPE 1329 and spoke with the town employees pre- sent. We also spoke with the Town of Oakville about this matter. TOWN WORKERS HOLD RALLY AS COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RESUMES DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com NEWS CONTRACT BETWEEN TOWN AND CUPE 1329 EXPIRED FEBRUARY 2019 Town of Oakville office workers walk out in front of Town Hall in an information rally to raise awareness. Nikki Wesley/Torstar