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Toronto mayor heralds end of strike
Montreal (AFP) July 30, 2009 Toronto's mayor said waste collection would resume on Friday, when striking municipal staff head back to work and face a five-week backlog of binbags and assorted detritus. Mayor David Miller expected a deal inked on Monday would allow normal services to resume after midnight Thursday, although the agreement has yet to be ratified. Around 24,000 city workers went on strike on June 22 to protest the city's intent to revise a collective contract that expired on December 31. During the tourist season, bins in Canada's largest city overflowed and the city set up temporary dumps in public parks and parking lots where residents could toss their rubbish. The dispute centered on a policy allowing workers to accumulate unused sick days and get paid for them when they retire, which the city has said was too expensive. Pools were also closed across the city during the strike. But some hurdles remain. Workers were expected to ratify the agreement on Thursday, but some municipal lawmakers have warned they may scuttle the deal on Friday. Miller lashed out at the threat. "This morning, a group of allegedly responsible councilors said they would vote against this agreement, which would cause the strike to continue," he told a Thursday news conference. "It's irresponsible, it's beneath contempt and it's beneath the very offices that these people hold." Share This Article With Planet Earth
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