

Codi Wilson and Chris Fox, CP24.com





The head of a union representing about 400 employees at the Toronto Zoo says she is “hopeful” that a deal will be reached to stave off a strike ahead of a midnight deadline.

Christine McKenzie, president of CUPE Local 1600, made the comment to CP24 on Wednesday afternoon as representatives from the union and the zoo’s bargaining team continued to work towards reaching a tentative agreement on a new contract.

“We have made some good progress today and we are hopeful that we can still get a deal,” she said. “We are concerned that there are still some major outstanding issues, though. Job security has always been our major issue from day one and that is still a hurdle we haven’t overcome.”

McKenzie said that talks between her union and zoo management have been ongoing for about five weeks but have only really started to pick up pace in recent days.

She said that it is important the management realizes that the zoo is a “unique institution,” one that requires “unique language,” to protect employees.

“We are very proud and serious about the conservation work and the research and education that we do at the zoo and that is not something we want to see chipped away at or endangered because of contracting out,” she said.

In a news release issued last week, CUPE Local 1600 said that the proposals that management has put forward so far have “dramatically-weakened job security protection.”

The zoo, however, has said that it wants to negotiate a contract that is fair to employees, albeit one which takes into consideration “provisions” contained in the contracts reached with unions representing the city’s inside and outside workers.

“The Toronto Zoo remains hopeful that a mutually beneficial agreement will be reached in the next few hours and that access to the Zoo and our programs will not be impacted by a labour disruption,” spokesperson Jennifer Tracy said in a written statement on Wednesday. “The zoo has been very clear since negotiations started, that any new contract would be fair and reasonable to employees and take into consideration the provisions reached in the last round of negotiations between the City of Toronto and CUPE Locals 79 and 416.”

CUPE Local 1600 has 400 members, including zookeepers, horticulturists, trades people, and maintenance workers.

It is not clear if the zoo will stay open in the event of a strike or lockout.