Strike ends, waste collection in Peel resumed December 13

December 16, 2021 · 0 Comments

By Rob Paul

The strike impacting waste collection in the Peel Region—which would have affected the vast majority of Caledon—has come to an end.

The labour dispute involving one of Peel’s waste collection contractors, Emterra Environmental and its employees of the Labourers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA) Local 183 has resolved.

The strike began on December 6 and ended December 9 with regular waste collection services for strike-affected residents in Peel resuming this past Monday, December 13.

“Emterra Group is pleased to have reached a new collective agreement with overwhelming support from its employees and the Labourers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 183 that will allow waste, recycling, organics, and yard waste collection to resume in Peel Region,” said Brad Muter, Chief Operations Officer, Emterra Group. “The agreement was ratified by employees this morning (December 9). We are pleased to have negotiated this fair and equitable agreement that recognizes the contribution of each and every valued employee. Emterra Group is proud to serve the residents of Peel Region as one of its recycling and waste management partners since 2016. We are committed to providing the same dependable service that our customers have come to expect and would like to thank them for their patience and understanding.”

For residents affected, if their waste wasn’t picked up last week, it will be this week. They are encouraged to leave their items curbside through this week for pickup.

“We are pleased to hear that Emterra and its union has reached an agreement and that they are able to provide normal waste collection to residents starting Monday,” said Norman Lee, Peel Director of Waste Management. “For residents in the strike-affected areas, we thank you for your patience this week and ask that you continue to follow the instructions provided, as Emterra works to finish collecting the remaining garbage and organics in these areas. We encourage residents to visit our website or social channels for additional information.”

Upwards of 175 workers were on strike and 150,000 households were projected to be impacted with Emterra Environmental providing waste collection for two thirds of homes in Peel Region.

The strike came about due to wage disparity issues after months of negotiations surrounding a new collective agreement between LiUNA Local 183 and Emterra Environmental.

“We were forced to take these measures after Emterra has refused to provide fair and equitable compensation for all of its workers,” Jack Oliveira, LiUNA Local 183 Business Manager. “Our members continued to provide an essential service throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. It is simply not fair for two workers with the same duties to have such a disparity in wages.”

For more information regarding waste collection in Peel for those who were affected, visit peelregion.ca/waste.