Parents in Toronto who have their kids enrolled in City-run March break programs will have to look for alternative plans, as the union representing the city’s inside workers have set an official strike date of 12:01 a.m. on Monday, March 10.
Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 79, which represents 30,000 inside workers, said it is a “firm strike deadline, with “no further exceptions.”
The union said negotiations would continue throughout the weekend, but the workers would have to walk off the job if a deal is not reached by then.
CUPE Local 79 President Nas Yadollahi said the union received what the city called its “final offer” on Tuesday, but it still falls short of its members’ needs.
Yadollahi said the union will be countering with its own proposal later on Wednesday.
CUPE Local 79 members include workers in public health, planning, City Hall operations, employment and social services, ambulance dispatch, child care, and 311, among others.
If workers go on strike, the City said all early learning and child care centres would close, and programming at all City recreation centres, including March Break camps, would be cancelled.
The union has said the City of Toronto refuses to negotiate a fair deal with its frontline workers.
The two sides have been bargaining since December 2024, and the City has said it “remains committed to negotiating a new collective agreement that reflects the important work of City employees while also providing value for money for Toronto residents and businesses.”
The City has offered workers an increase of nearly 15 per cent over four years and points out a similar increase was accepted by outside workers back in December.
CUPE Local 79 voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike mandate in January, citing “a crisis in retention and recruitment after nearly two decades of austerity and underinvestment” and highlighted Toronto’s emergency and ambulance services, saying several employees have been forced to leave “in droves” due to burnout and being underpaid.
With files from Lucas Casaletto and Michael Talbot, CityNews, and The Canadian Press
