City councillors say they’re not favouring either side in the Port Arthur Health Centre strike as they push them to cooperate and end the 15 week long dispute.
Council voted to send a letter to management and the workers asking for contract talks to resume, which Councillor Larry Hebert feels will be fair to both parties.
“This is pretty innocuous,” Hebert points out, “It’s not favouring one side or the other, just asking them to get back to bargaining for a fair settlement.”
City officials note they’re weighing in because of the length of the strike and the number of people affected by it.
Unifor spokesperson Andy Savela voiced a similar feeling, noting the motion Council approved “doesn’t say anything any of the parties should find a challenge.”
“It’s just simply calling on us to do the right thing and sit down and try to see if we can’t work it out.”
Savela hopes the letter can get discussions moving, claiming a third party has tried unsuccessfully three times to get clinic management to speak to the union.
He told Council he feels not much would have to be done to reach a tentative agreement.
“But we can’t do it alone,” Savela argues.
Our newsroom has reached out to the health centre’s management for comment on Monday night’s resolution.
