After two months of seniors taking the stairs, stalled construction and fears of safety violations, the province-wide elevator technician strike is over.
More than 500 workers in the GTA will return to work by July 10 or sooner, after a new collective agreement was reached on Friday afternoon between the International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 50 and the National Elevator Escalator Association.
A partial end to the strike on June 14 got 300 technicians working on residential construction sites in Toronto, Halton, Peel, York, Durham and the County of Simcoe back to work — the result of a clause in Ontario’s Labour Relations Act.
Elevators in hospitals, nursing homes and apartment towers are not covered by that clause.
The new agreement — which does not require a vote — includes a wage increase for the next three years consistent with other construction trades in the province.
“We’re satisfied the deal is done. We got what we asked for and we were able to protect the key elements of the contract,” says union spokesperson Marcel Wieder. “We’re going to get back on the tools as soon as we can.”
The new contract provides more control for employers hiring from the union, says NEEA spokesperson Patrick Moran. The association represents KONE, Otis, Schindler and ThyssenKrupp Elevator.
“We’re happy to have our people coming back to work,” he said.
During the two-month strike period around 95 per cent of elevators were operational at any one given time across the province, he said. Usually less than 1 per cent of elevators are down.
The companies used replacement workers to fill in during the strike — the longest of its kind since a near six-month nationwide strike in 1972.
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