Photo: flickr/kevin dooley

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Members of Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 1281 at the Continuing Education Students Association of Ryerson (CESAR) finally have a contract after a four month long lockout.

Being forced out on to the picket lines is a tough situation for any worker. But the staff locked out by CESAR faced an extra challenge — there were only two of them to walk the line.

Normally four staff work in an administration capacity for CESAR, providing student support and academic advising services.

But at the time of their lockout in September 30, 2013, one position was vacant. Another worker would quit just days before the lockout, leaving just two to advocate for their cause.

“It is quite a challenge,” said Saira Chhibber, president of CUPE 1281. Adding to the challenge was the fact that CUPE 1281 is a composite local with members stretched right across the province. “It’s difficult to do things like maintain a line without the support of other union members.”

The dispute arose after CESAR requested that the CUPE remove one unionized position from the collective agreement. CUPE 1281 staff balked at this request, as they had already agreed not to raise wages or benefits.

However, for all involved, it was a shocking turn of events that they were ever locked out to begin with. Chhibber believes that for CUPE 1281’s part, they had come to the table ready to negotiate in good faith. “It was a difficult round of bargaining,” she said. “We’ve never had a scenario where an employer has opted to lock staff out versus negotiate at the table.”

As the lockout stretched on, the two workers were left without their normal, full-time income. “We did our best as an executive to try and keep their spirits up,” said Chhibber. “I think it was helpful to have various people come out and offer support whether it was on the line or through solidarity requests.” 

The situation was also frustrating for part-time and continuing education students at Ryerson, who were left out without access to their academic advisors, and could no longer purchase discounted TTC metropasses. 

The workers also had the support of local unions and allies. “They had a lot of support from CUPE, the district labour council and from students on campus who felt this wasn’t necessarily an amazing thing,” said Chhibber. One of the members traveled to the CUPE National convention in Quebec City in November and received a rousing round of applause when she spoke. 

By January, CUPE 1281 had decided to bring their case to the Ontario Labour Board. With the application looming, CESAR finally returned to the bargaining table. On January 31, the two members ratified the new agreement and finally returned to work, more than four months after they were originally locked out. 

Chhibber could not comment on the specifics of the new agreement, but noted it was not substantially different from the one originally proposed before the lockout in September 2013. 

The two members of the bargaining unit could not be reached for comment, but Chhibber explained that both are happy with the results of the bargaining. “At the end of the day it would be safe to say that it is in many respects a victory,” Chhibber said. “It’s a terrible thing to go thorough a four month lockout to get to this point but staff are definitely happy to get back to work.”

Photo: flickr/kevin dooley

H.G. Watson

H.G. Watson

H.G. Watson is a multimedia journalist currently based in Waterloo, Ontario. After a brief foray into studying law, she decided that she preferred filing stories to editors than factums to the court....