Toronto Hydro Workers Protest Layoffs

Some of you may recall our earlier coverage of the layoffs at Toronto Hydro, but for those of you who missed it here is an excerpt that sums up the situation:

“More bad news, in the form of layoffs that are coming to the city of Toronto. It looks like a massive layoff is coming for the workers of Toronto Hydro. For those of you who do not live in the metro area, Toronto Hydro describes itself as:,

“Toronto Hydro–Electric System Limited is the regulated “wires” affiliate of Toronto Hydro Corporation and is one of the largest municipal electric distribution utilities in Canada. We ensure the safe and reliable delivery of electrical power to approximately 696,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers across the City of Toronto. This represents 18 per cent of electricity consumers in the province of Ontario. We plan, maintain and operate Toronto’s electrical distribution system infrastructure safely, efficiently and in an environmentally responsible manner. We deliver consistent, high quality customer service and account management.”

The 1,000 members of the staff and contractors are facing the ax. The company was recently denied a 5 percent rate increase recently, so now they are looking to layoff in order to make ends meet and stay in the black.

The utility, which is owned by the city of Ontario, recently applied to the Ontario Energy Board for the increase, which would have allowed for a $500 million upgrade to the power infrastructure. The upgrade is needed because some parts of the setup are more than 50 years old. The older equipment is not as efficient as other options, and may be more susceptible to weather damage or other failures that could impact consumers.

The regulator for the province denied the request last week. In the official statement the regulator said that it was, “not sufficiently credible.” Though, to be fair, he did not deny the increase completely, instead limiting them to a smaller increase that could generate $140 million in extra revenue.

The utility, which employs about 1,700, began the mass layoffs with the contractors that have been hired out. Up to 340 of the current employees are also expected to be let go in the near future.”

It looks like those layoffs will not go uncontested. The Canadian Union of Public Employees Local One, the union that is representing the workers of Toronto Hydro, as called for a no layoff policy. While they have no actual authority in this situation their appeal may have some influence. The workers, with the exception of the 130 who accepted an early retirement, held a rally late on Monday in order to protest losing their jobs.

While the company is looking to cut their budget by about $20 million, thanks to a decision by the Ontario Energy Board that has limited the amount of money that can be used for updating the system, the union asserts that the 130 workers who have chosen to leave, along with some recent management cuts, is enough money to close the gap.

If the board changes it’s ruling, then a number of the workers will be able to stay on.