Hamilton’s municipal employees have sought to add the federal Truth and Reconciliation Day as a paid holiday, but were unsuccessful in their contract talks last year.
Now, Hamilton’s unionized firefighters will have the federal holiday following contract arbitration.
The arbitrator cited the decision of Hamilton’s Police Service Board to grant the new federal holiday to the Hamilton Police employees. That decision was made in an emergency police board meeting in September 2021. Then-Mayor Fred Eisenberger called the meeting, which was held in secret, to grant the new holiday to police staff.
CUPE 5167, the union representing the vast majority of city workers, has sought a precedent to gain the holiday. They were unsuccessful at arbitration seeking the holiday for workers at Macassa and Wentworth Lodges.
They were unable to secure it during their 2023 contract bargaining with City Council.
It is expected to be a bargaining issue in the next round of CUPE 5167 contract talks in 2027.
Production Details v. 1.0.0 Published: July 17, 2024 Last updated: July 17, 2024 Author: Joey Coleman Update Record v. 1.0.0 original version