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Staff strike in community of St. Charles at a stalemate

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Seven unionized staff members in St. Charles have been on strike for three weeks in a labour disruption that appears to be at a stalemate.

The union's business officer, Mike Ryan, said they have had several bargaining sessions and were close to an agreement on a contract "that we don't believe affects the economic realities of what's going on today."

"We all know that the price of everything is going up, we really don't believe that the members were out of line with what they're asking for due to the economic realities," Ryan said.

He said the union is seeking a "front-loaded" contract that provides relief from rising inflation now.

"A lot of the agreements that we have settled so far this year have been top heavy in that they are front-loaded, in that the first year there seems to be a higher bargaining percentage in the first year," Ryan said.

"Subsequent years are less because we realize the people need the money now. Gas, food prices, lodging … everything has gone through the roof in the past six to eight months … We know that they're going to settle down but people need help right away. Most of the collective agreements that we are settling now do recognize that."

He said they got a "flat out no" from the municipality. Despite the setback, he said spirits are high on the picket line and community support for the group has been huge.

They're hoping to propose some 'creative' bargaining with the municipality when the conciliation officer returns from her vacation on Monday.

CTV News received a statement on the labour dispute from St. Charles CAO Denis Turcot. It reads in part:

"Together, we believe the parties can negotiate to resolve the remaining issues, and reach a reasonable agreement for our staff, and that is affordable for taxpayers.

"It is disappointing that some municipal services are and could further be affected by the labour disruption, but our focus is on resolving issues at the table and minimizing any affect on or disruption of services to our residents. We will continue to work toward a fair and sustainable deal."

'A VERY FAIR AMOUNT'

Rick Lloyd works as a custodian/labourer for the town. He said walking the picket line is the last thing he wants to be doing.

"It's kind of tough there," Lloyd said.

"We've been trying to drum out support and inform the community what's going on. It all comes down to the cost of living, it's over eight per cent right now and I think we're asking for a very fair amount."

Lloyd said they've been working without a contract for the past six months and there hasn't been any real bargaining on the issue.

"We'd rather be back at work for the community. We enjoy doing our jobs," he said. 

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