Ontario Construction News staff writer
The union representing Ontario’s striking government engineers has filed a labour complaint against the Ford government, alleging that members who stopped work on Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass are being barred from returning to their jobs.
“Instead of focussing on bargaining, and delivering on Ontario’s infrastructure priorities, Treasury Board negotiators have chosen to attack our members and their rights,” the Professional Engineers Government of Ontario (PEGO) wrote on X on Saturday. “PEGO experts would rather focus on getting a fair deal and serving Ontarians.”
The Professional Engineers Government of Ontario (PEGO) announced last week that key technical engineers were reassigned from significant infrastructure projects as part of an ongoing contract dispute.
Government officials say workers who walked off the job cannot return until they receive provincial approval or a new collective agreement is signed. An email sent to all union members warns that any work stoppage would lead to similar restrictions.
However, PEGO argues that the restriction on returning to work is a violation of Ontario’s labour laws.
“While the government hasn’t explicitly called it a ‘lockout,’ it certainly feels that way to our members,” said PEGO president Nihar Bhatt. “They’ve been informed that their only path back to work is contingent upon the government’s decision, which we believe contravenes the Labour Relations Act.” The union is filing a complaint with the Ontario Labour Relations Board, asserting that this situation amounts to an unlawful lockout.
A spokesperson for the Treasury Board, which oversees negotiations for the government, characterized the actions as standard protocol told Global News that employees represented by PEGO who have fully withdrawn their services have been “reminded of their employment terms and conditions.
“Like any employee who refuses to work, those from PEGO will not receive pay. This is common practice to ensure operational needs are met,” the spokesperson is quoted as saying.
During a mediation session Oct. 18, Treasury Board representatives presented an unchanged offer that does not address the resourcing challenges within the Ontario Public Service (OPS) to support infrastructure plans.
“The intransigence of Treasury Board negotiators continues to be frustrating and inexplicable to our members,” Bhatt said. “Their latest proposal runs directly counter to the needs of Ontario’s infrastructure development and maintenance agenda.”
The difference between PEGO and the Treasury Board in negotiations represents a small fraction of Ontario’s annual engineering spending of $1 billion and an even smaller fraction of the $20 billion spent on overall infrastructure, Bhatt said in a news release, adding the union is concerned about the challenge Ontario faces in recruiting and retaining expert engineering and surveying staff. Vacancies could impact key priorities, including Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass—both designated as priority construction projects.
“The latest proposal from Treasury Board negotiators is not getting us any closer to a fair deal,” Bhatt warned. “It ignores the pleas of OPS engineering and surveying managers for adequate resources and the evidence showing that Ontario will continue to lose highly skilled engineers and surveyors to better-paying opportunities with other levels of government or in the private sector.”
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