MPP West calls out the Conservatives for “bargaining in bad faith” with government engineers

QUEEN’S PARK – Ontario NDP Labour critic, Jamie West (Sudbury), called out the Conservatives for bargaining in bad faith with government engineers and locking them out of work.

“For workers that have been without a contract for more than a year, the PEGO (Professional Engineers Government of Ontario) workers have been more than reasonable. They are paid substantially less than they’d earn in the private sector. They haven’t had a labour dispute in 35 years. They’ve spent over 22-months at the bargaining table. Meanwhile, the government has only showed up to bargain for 30 days in the past 22 months, with the last time being 3 months ago.

"When these workers withdrew their engineering services on the Bradford By-Pass and Highway 413, the Conservative government apparently informed the workers that they can only return to work when the government says so.

"Is this what public sector professionals can expect from the Conservative government? Bargaining in bad faith and being locked out?”

Background:

• The Professional Engineers Government of Ontario (PEGO) workers serve Ontarians in eleven Ontario ministries/agencies, and perform critical roles related to the provincial highway network, the Ontario Building Code, land surveying, food safety, workplace safety, clean air, and safe drinking water.
• 85 billion dollars worth of public infrastructure projects are designed, planned and overseen by PEGO-represented engineers.