Professional Engineers Government of Ontario to Take Strike Action on October 8th

Ontario can't "get it done" without its engineers and surveyors

TORONTO, Oct. 7, 2024 /CNW/ - For the first time in its 35-year history, the Professional Engineers Government of Ontario (PEGO), the certified bargaining association representing Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors employed by the Ontario Public Service (OPS), will take legal strike action in response to 20 months without a contract or a fair offer by the Treasury Board of the Government of Ontario.

PEGO-represented engineering and land surveying experts work in eleven ministries/agencies and perform critical project management, oversight and enforcement roles related to the provincial highway network, the Ontario Building Code, land surveying, fire safety, food and workplace safety, clean air, and safe drinking water. In addition to working on the government's ambitious $185 billion dollar infrastructure building plans, PEGO members also oversee the maintenance of more than $85 billion dollars worth of already existing public infrastructure in Ontario including the 400 series highways. PEGO and the Treasury Board have in place an agreement as to the maintenance of essential and emergency services during a legal strike.

This strike will begin on October 8^th with PEGO members initiating a work-to-rule campaign. Subsequent escalation could include strategic withdrawals of labour by certain groups of employees in the PEGO bargaining unit for limited time periods.  It is expected that this labour dispute will impact the government's ability to advance and deliver on key infrastructure commitments and to manage existing infrastructure and operations. Action taken by PEGO members will be responsible and targeted, reflecting PEGO's commitment to the people of Ontario and their desire to work collaboratively towards a new contract that addresses the critical shortage in engineering and land surveying expertise in the OPS.

"We are engineers and surveyors, we want to be building. We want to support Ontario's ambitious infrastructure building agenda, but adequate engineering resources need to be available to deliver on it," said PEGO President, Nihar Bhatt, P.Eng.

"These past 20 months without a contract have been exasperating because we have no time to waste, as we have watched colleague after colleague leave the public service for significantly higher compensation elsewhere thus depriving the government of the expertise it needs to deliver on its agenda.  We just can't understand why the Treasury Board negotiators has been so slow to recognize that there is a problem, despite having the data and hearing from their own managers over and over again about this problem.  For nearly 16 months at the bargaining table, PEGO has presented offers and solutions that will help deliver the government's agenda and ensure that the engineering resources are in place to 'get it done'."

PEGO members have been stretched to the breaking point. An analysis of the comparator market shows that PEGO members earn 30% to 50% less than they could earn in the broad Ontario market working for municipalities, other government agencies or the private sector. It is worth noting that PEGO members often write standards, direct the work and exercise oversight of professionals in these comparator employers. As such, recruitment and retention of engineering and land surveying experts have become key issues at the bargaining table. Mounting vacancies have now become critical and could result in significant project impacts and delays on key priorities of the government, including Highway 413, the Bradford Bypass and overdue expansion of highways in Northern Ontario.

PEGO remains hopeful that a settlement can be reached and calls on the Premier to get his officials to the bargaining table with a fair offer that keeps Ontario's infrastructure agenda on track.

Website: www.pego.on.ca

Background:

See PEGO's Opinion-Editorial published in Canadian Consulting Engineer, October 1, 2024 https://www.canadianconsultingengineer.com/features/pego-op-ed-expect-delays/ and PEGO's Policy Paper on the topic of delays in infrastructure projects: "EXPECT DELAYS – PEGO's Policy Paper on Public Service Engineering and Ontario's Infrastructure Priorities – August 2024"

SOURCE Professional Engineers Government of Ontario (PEGO)

MEDIA CONTACT: Nihar Bhatt, President - PEGO, [email protected], 647-408-1619