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A ' &, A Metrn1nanmmunii-v New'~sne~r Vol. 139 No. il luesclaM, APflAi), 1èl Negotiations are down to the wire By IRENE GENTLE Special ta the Champion More than 110 utility workers say they are ready to watk if a con- tract settiement can't be reached with Halton Region by Thursday (April 9). Halton Region and CUPE Local 2620 were scheduled to hit the bar- gaining table Monday (April 6) in an 11 th hour attempt to avert a strike by the environmental services workers, who have been without Negotiations began in June 1997 between Halton and the workers, who operate and maintain water purification and wastewater treatment plants for Halton. Talks broke down in March after failing to achieve resolution on key issues such as: - Wage increases. Workers who have been without a raise in 6-years are looking for a 50 cents an hour across the board increase - Decreased benefits. The union has rejected a proposai by the Region to cut wage payments to employees injured on the job. According to CUPE Local 2620 President Gerry Dean, workers were mni- tially looking for wage parity to put their paycheques in line with environmental ser- vices employees from other regions. "We found out our plant operators were 50 underpaid they would have to be raised about $5 an hour," said Mr. Dean. Want a raise Instead of parity the union is ready to accept a 50 cents an hour increase over three years. Halton plant workers presently make $1688 an hour. Plant operators in Durham Region recently negotiated a contract giv- ing them an hourly wage of $20.37, Halton employees indicate. The union is also battling a proposai by the Region to reduce benelits such as pre- scription dispensing fees and payment reductions for workers injured on the job. The Region is looking to trim wage pay- ments from 100 per cent to 85 per cent foi injured workers. Also at issue are pay raises linked tc Ministry of Environment certification. which is normally achieved via a writter exam. At present, older workers have been able to achieve MOE approval without school- ing through a grandfather clause. Grandfathening can award MOE approval to older workers by taking into accounit their jobs, skifls and experience. By discarding grandfathering, older workers would be ineligible for pay raises, see STRIKE on page 23 *NEWSLINESj Cops use spray te control man Police used pepper spray to con- trol an armed man acting irratonally outside McDonald's Thursday. The caîl to police came from the Quality Inn on Chisholm Drive, where a man was reportedly at the front desk yelling, screaming and generally behaving erratically. The man had left the hotel by the time police arrived shortly after 1 p.m., but officers located him outside the nearby McDonald's, said Det. Sgt. Jackie Gordon of Halton Regional Police. But the man became agitated when police approached and told officers he was armed. A scuffle began as he was being arrested, and an officer used pepper spray, said Det. Sgt. Gordon. A knife and a bottle of pepper spray were found following a search. A 36ý-year-old Weston man was taken to Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital in Burlington under the Mental Health Act. et iviuuuiaiiu %-uiiuiiuiiity Týl. .ýl - . .. - - -r--- - - 4U ral iges 750 (GST included) Tuesday, April 7, 1998