CUPE 1883 Updates
The Region is now in negotiations with CUPE 1883, representing full-time office, clerical and technical employees.
We continue to work closely with CUPE and both parties are committed to reaching an agreement that is both competitive for members and affordable for residents.
Currently, CUPE 1883 will be in a legal strike position as of Saturday, September 26.
In the event of a strike, services will continue with reduced capacity.
Residents may experience the following impacts:
Public Health and Paramedic Services
All critical mandated and legislated Public Health work will continue. Paramedic Services, including 9-1-1 emergency response and Community Paramedicine, will continue.
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Non-urgent dental appointments will be rescheduled
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School and community dental screenings will be rescheduled
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Routine health inspections will pause, support for critical and urgent inspections and investigations, e.g. safe water, rabies and outbreak response, will continue
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Private well water testing drop off will pause
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Harm reduction supply distribution and partner support will pause; OMARS alerts will continue
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Clinical Services will continue, e.g. Baby Feeding Clinics, Immunization and Sexual Health clinics
Community Services
Essential payments, including Ontario Works and child care subsidy will continue.
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Welcome Space at 20 Weber St in Kitchener will close due to limited capacity. Cambridge and Waterloo locations will be open for regular hours.
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Processing applications for some programs and services could be delayed or paused, except in urgent situations (e.g. emergency financial assistance).
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Response times by phone and email may vary for non-urgent requests as we manage capacity.
Grand River Transit
GRT buses, MobilityPLUS, and ION trains will continue to operate.
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Reduced hours for customer service locations at Ainslie, Benton and Strasburg
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Processing of Affordable Transit Program applications and renewals may be delayed
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Travel training will not be available, existing appointments will be rescheduled
More information is available on the Grand River Transit website at grt.ca/updates.
Waste Management
No impacts to waste collection services.
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Reduced capacity for waste collection escalations
Regional Libraries
Regional Library locations will remain open as per usual hours of service.
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Online library services (registering/renewing online memberships) may be delayed or suspended
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Library programming may be cancelled due to staff capacity. Participants will be notified directly
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General inquiries to Library HQ may experience delays
Regional Museums
Regional Museums will remain open as per usual hours of service.
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Some museum programming may be cancelled due to capacity. Participants will be notified directly
Service First Contact Centre
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Residents may experience slightly longer wait times when calling the SFCC
Provincial Offenses Court
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Phone payments for Provincial Offences Court will pause
