On March 8, 30,000 of the city's indoor workers could go on strike, leading to the closure of 39 city-owned early learning and child care centres, alongside the cancellation of other city-run programming.
On Friday afternoon, the City of Toronto said it is engaged in ongoing negotiations with the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 79 (CUPE79).
The union’s members work in areas like public health, ambulance dispatch, shelter services, water and food inspection, child care and long-term care, among other services.
Despite the ongoing talks with CUPE79, the city issued a statement outlining how a strike would cause possible labour disruptions to various services.
As well as child care centres, a CUPE79 strike would see the city's March Break camps cancelled.
"Refunds will be issued for any paid recreation programs that are affected and clients will not be charged for days that City-operated child care centres are closed," a statement reads.
Emergency response services, including the Toronto Police Service, Toronto Fire Services and Toronto Paramedic Services, will not be impacted by a possible strike, officials confirmed.
The Toronto Community Crisis Service, winter road and sidewalk maintenance operations, and senior and long-term care services would also continue during a disruption. Water operations, court proceedings and city-owned shelters will also remain open during a potential strike.
On Feb. 19, the City of Toronto received a no-board report signalling negotiations between CUPE79 and the city are at an impasse.
Ontario's Ministry of Labour granted the no-board report, which allows CUPE79 to be in a legal strike position — and the city in a legal lockout position — at 12:01 a.m., or one minute past midnight, on Saturday, March 8, 2025.
What does CUPE79 want?
Among other items, CUPE79 is seeking better pay for union members, many of whom make minimum wage and lack benefits, according to CUPE79 president Nas Yadollahi.
Bargaining between CUPE79 and the City of Toronto began in December 2024.
The city 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."
City officials have offered CUPE79 members the same general wage increases that were successfully negotiated with Toronto Civic Employees Union Local 416, which consists of the city's outdoor workers.
Members of the latter union, CUPE416, will see wage increases of between three and 3.95 per cent year-over-year — a 3.95 per cent increase in 2025, 3.9 per cent in 2026, 3.8 per cent in 2027 and 3 per cent in 2028.
The city has noted both unions’ members are “all part of the same labour environment” and have “received the same general wage increases” for the last 25 years.
Earlier this month, Yadollahi pushed back on the offer and said CUPE79 represents an “entirely different workforce.”
“While that deal may have been appropriate for [CUPE416], it is not going to be something that we can accept,” she said.
In Friday's statement, the city said it has also tabled targeted salary improvements, alongside the proposed increases, in order to address jobs where the city is not paying at market levels.
"These proposals include a significant investment in recreation staff that will ensure 92 per cent of all part-time recreation hours are paid above minimum wage," the city said. "In comparison, last year, 57 per cent of all recreation hours worked were paid above minimum wage."
The offer from the City of Toronto would see $2.7 million invested in recreation worker compensation, officials said.
Part-time staff working in long-term care homes were offered the wage increase, as well as improved guarantees of daily hours and a boost to the number of guaranteed shifts per pay period.
Nurses, call takers, dispatchers and their training officers, law clerks, prosecutors and municipal standards officers were yesterday offered special wage adjustments through negotiations with CUPE79. The city said this wage adjustment would "bring these jobs up to market levels."
In January, over 90 per cent of CUPE79 workers voted in favour of a strike mandate.
The union’s contract with the city expired at the end of 2024.
— with files from TorontoToday's Kathryn Mannie
