About 60 workers at the Salvation Army’s Booth Centre walked off the job at 3 p.m. on Friday after almost two weeks of working without a contract.
The strike will not leave those who frequent the centre at 171 George St. out in the cold, said Michael Maidment, a Salvation Army spokesperson in Ottawa.
A contingency plan is in place to serve the approximately 150 homeless men who use the shelter each night, said Maidment. Half of the shelter’s workforce is not unionized and they are still able to work.
The unionized workers have been in a legal strike position since Dec. 20 when talks between them and the Salvation Army broke down.
The Salvation Army has offered the employees a 7.5-per-cent wage increase over three years in addition to a signing bonus of $500 for full-time employees ($250 for part-time) and two additional bereavement days requested by the union, according to a press release.
However, this is not enough for the workers, said Larry Rousseau, a representative for the Public Service Alliance of Canada Local 73100.
“In dollar terms, it’s only 23 cents an hour they are offering. It’s only $10 a week,” he said.
The employees are looking for double what the Salvation Army is prepared to offer to bring their wages in line with other shelters in the city, said Rousseau.