WINDSOR, ONT. -- Windsor city council will meet Wednesday to discuss the possibility of laying off of hundreds of city staff due to adjustments related to the coronavirus.
Mayor Drew Dilkens met with the heads of CUPE local 82 and 543, who represent both the city’s indoor and outdoor workers.
He says they struck a “fair understanding’ of a pathway forward, but it won’t be pain free.
“It will require some scale down of members in both unions,” says Dilkens. “But at the end of the day I think it’s a fair path forward that lets us continue to provide services that we need to provide, reflecting that taxpayers are paying the bill and many of them are struggling today.”
Dilkens notes revenues are way down and expenses are way up.
He says the result could be the temporary layoff of hundreds of city workers who aren’t currently at work, but have been collecting pay for the past two weeks.
Council will have the final say at a special meeting Wednesday afternoon.
Dilkens says it’s a difficult decision but has to consider the wellbeing of both staff and taxpayers.
