Month: January 2013

Members of Local 793 of the International Union of Operating Engineers have ratified a new three-year Provincial Collective Agreement with contractors. Union members voted overwhelmingly in favour of the agreement at ratification meetings held throughout the province Jan. 28, 2013. The agreement affects operators who work on cranes and heavy equipment at construction sites across the province and who are involved in activities such as steel erection and mechanical installations, foundation piling, caisson boring, excavation, general construction and surveying. The agreement provides for a total monetary package increase of $3.95 […]

Members of Local 793 of the International Union of Operating Engineers have ratified a new three-year Provincial Collective Agreement with contractors.

Union members voted overwhelmingly in favour of the agreement at ratification meetings held throughout the province Jan. 28, 2013.

The agreement affects operators who work on cranes and heavy equipment at construction sites across the province and who are involved in activities such as steel erection and mechanical installations, foundation piling, caisson boring, excavation, general construction and surveying.

The agreement provides for a total monetary package increase of $3.95 an hour over three years. Operators working under the agreement will receive an increase of $1.45 an hour as of May 1, 2013, another $1.30 an hour on May 1, 2014, and another $1.20 an hour on May 1, 2015.

All travel, room and board, living out, commuting, meal and kilometre allowances and expenses will be increased three per cent as of May 1, 2013, another three per cent on May 1, 2014, and another three per cent on May 1, 2015.

The agreement runs from May 1, 2013 to April 30, 2016.

“We are pleased to have been able to work with our employers to reach a settlement over three months prior to the expiry of the Provincial Collective Agreement,” said Local 793 Business Manager Mike Gallagher. “Both sides worked hard to reach the settlement because there are many important infrastructure, energy sector and institutional projects throughout the province that need to be brought to completion to deliver the services that the public need.

“It is our hope that other trades not yet settled will also work hard to reach settlements to the benefit of all in the industry and general public.”

In addition to the monetary package, the agreement contains language aimed at improving personal protective equipment supplied to operators working in the concrete pumping industry. To boost employment opportunities for mobile crane apprentices, the ratio of apprentices to journeypersons has also been increased. Meanwhile, wage premiums for employees operating specialized and large tonnage equipment, including cranes, have also been increased.

Local 793 of the International Union of Operating Engineers represents thousands of highly-skilled crane and heavy equipment operators across Ontario. The union has a head office, banquet hall and training campus in Oakville, and another training campus in Morrisburg.

For additional information contact:
Local 793 Business Manager Mike Gallagher
905-469-9299, ext. 2202

Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher extends his congratulations to Local 115 business manager Brian Cochrane and his team in British Columbia for their efforts on behalf of all Canadians in a dispute over the hiring of temporary foreign workers from China by HD Mining. The company has announced that the workers are being sent home. Local 115 was one of two building trades unions that brought legal action against the company. Click here for press release from the B.C. Building Trades. Click here for press release from HD Mining. […]

Local 793 business manager Mike Gallagher extends his congratulations to Local 115 business manager Brian Cochrane and his team in British Columbia for their efforts on behalf of all Canadians in a dispute over the hiring of temporary foreign workers from China by HD Mining. The company has announced that the workers are being sent home. Local 115 was one of two building trades unions that brought legal action against the company.

Click here for press release from the B.C. Building Trades.

Click here for press release from HD Mining.

Click here for story on Local 115 website.

Proposal meetings are being held on Sunday, February 3, 2013 for Local 793 members working in various sectors. The meetings are being held in the union banquet hall, 2245 Speers Road, Oakville. Please be sure to attend the proposal meeting for your sector and notify as many union members as possible. Click here for information about proposal meeting for the Toronto & Area Road Builders Collective Agreement. Click here for information about proposal meeting for the Ontario Concrete & Drain Collective Agreement. Click here for information about proposal meeting for […]

Proposal meetings are being held on Sunday, February 3, 2013 for Local 793 members working in various sectors. The meetings are being held in the union banquet hall, 2245 Speers Road, Oakville. Please be sure to attend the proposal meeting for your sector and notify as many union members as possible.

Click here for information about proposal meeting for the Toronto & Area Road Builders Collective Agreement.

Click here for information about proposal meeting for the Ontario Concrete & Drain Collective Agreement.

Click here for information about proposal meeting for the Ontario Formwork Collective Agreement.

Click here for information about proposal meeting for the Toronto Sewer & Watermain Collective Agreement.

Your union will be holding a ratification and/or strike vote on Monday, January 28, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. for all members that: 1) are working under the Provincial Collective Agreement; and 2) may work under the Provincial Collective Agreement, but are not employed in any employment on January 28. The Provincial Collective Agreement applies to the following types of work: Crane & Equipment Rental Steel Erection and Mechanical Installations Foundation Piling and Caisson Boring Excavation General Construction Surveying (related to the above work) Be sure you attend this important meeting […]

Your union will be holding a ratification and/or strike vote on Monday, January 28, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. for all members that: 1) are working under the Provincial Collective Agreement; and 2) may work under the Provincial Collective Agreement, but are not employed in any employment on January 28.

The Provincial Collective Agreement applies to the following types of work:

• Crane & Equipment Rental
• Steel Erection and Mechanical Installations
• Foundation Piling and Caisson Boring
• Excavation
• General Construction
• Surveying (related to the above work)

Be sure you attend this important meeting and please notify as many of your fellow brothers and sisters as possible that work or may work under the Provincial Collective Agreement. Should you have any questions please contact your district union office.

Following is a schedule of the meeting locations:

District — Location  (Time: 7:30 p.m.)

Belleville — Travelodge, Prince Edward Room, 11 Bay Bridge Road, Belleville
Hamilton — Teamsters Hall, 460 Parkdale Avenue N., Hamilton
Cambridge — Cambridge Hotel & Conference Centre, Dorset Room, 700 Hespeler Road, Cambridge
London — Plumbers Hall, 523 First Street, London
North Bay — Voyager Inn, Delaware Room, 123 Delaware Avenue, North Bay
Barrie — IUOE Local 793, 240 Bayview Drive, Unit 15, Barrie
Oshawa — CAW Local 222, Main Hall, 1425 Phillip Murray Avenue, Oshawa
Ottawa — Best Western Macies, Ottawa A & B Rooms, 1274 Carling Ave, Ottawa
Sarnia — Local 663 Plumbers Hall, 1151 Confederation Street, Sarnia
Sault Ste. Marie — IUOE Local 793, 71 Black Road, Unit 7, Sault Ste. Marie
St. Catharines — Holiday Inn & Suites Parkway Conference Centre, Brock Room, 327 Ontario Street, St. Catharines
Sudbury — IUOE Local 793, 430 Westmount Avenue, Unit H, Sudbury
Thunder Bay — Lakehead Labour Centre, 929 Fort William Road, Thunder Bay
Timmins — Timmins Inn & Suites, Ballroom “C”, 1800 Riverside Drive, Timmins
Toronto — IUOE Local 793 Head Office, Banquet Hall, 2245 Speers Road, Oakville
Windsor — Serbian Centre, 6770 Tecumseh Road E., Windsor

Fraternally,

Mike Gallagher
Business Manager

Click here for the official meeting notice

Inspectors from the Ministry of Labour will be checking for hazards that could cause slips, trips and falls at Ontario construction sites this winter. They’ll also be visiting underground mines to test diesel emissions and look for other hazards that could affect air quality. During the blitzes, inspectors will be checking on the condition and maintenance of safety equipment, worker training, the use of safety equipment and other potential health and safety hazards to help prevent workplace injuries. “One of our government’s key priorities is to protect the health and […]

Inspectors from the Ministry of Labour will be checking for hazards that could cause slips, trips and falls at Ontario construction sites this winter.

They’ll also be visiting underground mines to test diesel emissions and look for other hazards that could affect air quality.

During the blitzes, inspectors will be checking on the condition and maintenance of safety equipment, worker training, the use of safety equipment and other potential health and safety hazards to help prevent workplace injuries.

“One of our government’s key priorities is to protect the health and safety of workers at workplaces across the province,” said Labour Minister Linda Jeffrey. “We want every worker to return home safe and sound at the end of each work day.”

Ontario’s chief prevention officer George Gritziotis said the inspections are part of Ontario’s efforts to prevent injuries and deaths at workplaces.

“These blitzes will promote health and safety and raise awareness of the some of the hazards that can lead to tragedy.”

The blitzes are aimed at:

• Raising awareness of health and safety in the workplace.
• Preventing injuries and illnesses that could arise from unsafe work practices.
• Ensuring that workplaces are complying with the law.

Falls continue to be a major cause of injury and death in Ontario workplaces. Most of the injuries and deaths have occurred because fall protection was either missing or not used.

In Ontario, employers are required to provide workers with fall-protection training if the workers will be exposed to fall hazards.

The blitzes are part of Ontario’s enforcement strategy to increase compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and its regulations.

This past fall, blitzes also targeted supervision at construction sites.

Since 2008, ministry inspectors have conducted more than 345,000 field visits, 47 inspection blitzes and issued more than 560,000 compliance orders in Ontario workplaces.

Construction activity is expected to remain healthy in Ontario through 2013, according to a market intelligence report released recently by BTY Group. Although the residential sector is expected to cool somewhat, major ongoing transportation and social infrastructure projects, along with new commercial and retail investment, are expected to help sustain healthy construction levels. “Major new commitments to transportation and healthcare projects will help sustain healthy levels of activity as residential building cools in the GTA,” says Stephanie Bax, an associate at BTY Group. “Led by a spate of new office […]

Construction activity is expected to remain healthy in Ontario through 2013, according to a market intelligence report released recently by BTY Group.

Although the residential sector is expected to cool somewhat, major ongoing transportation and social infrastructure projects, along with new commercial and retail investment, are expected to help sustain healthy construction levels.

“Major new commitments to transportation and healthcare projects will help sustain healthy levels of activity as residential building cools in the GTA,” says Stephanie Bax, an associate at BTY Group. “Led by a spate of new office towers, renewed interest in commercial and retail also augurs well for 2013.”

The report notes that recovery in both the U.S. auto and housing sectors is a good sign for Ontario’s prospects as the year progresses.

Growing strength in production, employment and investment in the factory sector are also expected to drive continued modest growth.

On the residential side, the report says that the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation projects that housing starts in Ontario will decline to 65,000 units in 2013 from 77,600 units in 2012.

The GTA condo market is expected to experience a disproportionate share of the decline, but the report says positive net migration levels will add strength to housing demand in the longer term.

Resurgent commercial construction and retail redevelopment will help counterbalance the residential sector’s breathing spell, the report says.

Presently, the report notes, Toronto has 16 new office towers in the works and multiple major malls being redeveloped.

The arrival of U.S. retailers Nordstrom, J. Crew and Target is also expected to further strengthen activity in the sector.

In 2013 Target is opening 24 stores across Ontario, with construction costs of $230 million.

The report says that the resurgence will support longer-term construction employment, which is expected to expand by almost 44,000 jobs — a 14-per-cent increase, with 14,000 of those jobs, or nine per cent, in residential construction, and 30,000, or 17 per cent, in nonresidential.

The report says major mining projects, such as the $1.2-billion Detour Gold Mine and Vale’s new Sudbury smelter, part of a $3.4-billion facilities upgrade, indicate strong, longer-term growth.

Meanwhile, the report says, the “Ring of Fire” holds special promise, as the area in northern Ontario is rich in minerals such as chromite and nickel — key ingredients in stainless steel, a material in high demand in China and India — and will require extensive infrastructure development for resource extraction.

The report notes that Ontario’s economy is expected to grow by two to four per cent in both 2013 and 2014, and by three to five per cent in 2015.

Following is a list of major projects compiled by BTY Group:

Major Transportation Infrastructure Projects:

• $8.2 billion Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown LRT (Phase 1)
• $2.6 billion Spadina Subway Extension (completion 2015)
• $2.2 billion Ottawa Light Rail Transit
• $2 billion Highway 407 East extension
• $1.5 billion Windsor-Essex Parkway (completion 2014)
• $818 million Kitchener Waterloo LRT
• $640 million Union Station renovations (completion 2015)
• $600 million in funding to create 25,000 new university spaces
• $456-million Toronto Air-Rail Link

Major ICI (Industrial/Commercial/Institutional) Projects:

• $2 billion New Oakville Hospital project
• $1.75 billion Humber River Regional Hospital
• $800 million 2015 Pan American Games athletes village
• $759 million Niagara Healthcare System
• $622 million Bridgepoint Hospital
• $581 million St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton West 5th Campus
• $548 million Ontario Provincial Police modernization project
• $460 million Women’s College Hospital redevelopment
• $247 million Quinte Consolidated Courthouse
• Kingston Providence Care Centre Replacement Hospital
• William Osler Health System — Phase 1 Peel Memorial Centre
• University of Ottawa Heart Institute – cardiac life support services

Major Energy/Utilities Projects:

• $7 billion in wind/solar power generation from consortium led by Samsung C&T Corp./Korea Electric Power Corp. (completion 2015)
• $2.6 billion Lower Mattagami Hydroelectric complex
• $2.3 billion for Hydro One’s new transmission and distribution lines
• $1.6 billion Niagara Tunnel project
• $26 billion nuclear replacement/refurbishment program to 2020
• $3.4 billion Vale Smelter and facilities upgrade
• $1.2 billion Detour Gold Mine

The provincial Ministry of Labour reports that fatalities on Ontario construction sites declined in 2012 over the previous year. There were 13 people killed on sites last year, significantly less than the 22 deaths that occurred in 2011. It is the lowest number of fatalities ever recorded in a year since the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board began keeping such data. The figures were reported on Jan. 9 at a meeting of the Provincial Labour Management Health and Safety Committee. While fatalities were down, though, the same can’t be said […]

The provincial Ministry of Labour reports that fatalities on Ontario construction sites declined in 2012 over the previous year.

There were 13 people killed on sites last year, significantly less than the 22 deaths that occurred in 2011.

It is the lowest number of fatalities ever recorded in a year since the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board began keeping such data.

The figures were reported on Jan. 9 at a meeting of the Provincial Labour Management Health and Safety Committee.

While fatalities were down, though, the same can’t be said of critical injuries.

There were 141 workers critically injured on construction sites in 2012, compared to 134 in 2011.

In December alone, there were 12 critical injuries. Four were caught or pinned by equipment, one was struck by equipment, six were fall-related and one suffered burns from an electrical hazard.

Of the 12 criticals, five occurred in the residential sector, three in the commercial building sector, one in the institutional sector, one in the utilities sector, one in the industrial, commercial, institutional sector and one in the demolition sector.

The Ministry of Labour noted there is still much work to be done to improve the health and safety performance of the construction industry and to ensure every worker returns home safely every night of the week.

The Ministry is in the process of hiring approximately 18 new inspectors.

 

The starting time for the Toronto district monthly meetings has been changed to 7 p.m. from 8 p.m. The 7 p.m. start time will be in effect for meetings being held in the months of January, February, March and April. In May, the start time will return to 8 p.m. The meetings are held on the third Wednesday of every month. The union’s executive board agreed to the changes.  

The starting time for the Toronto district monthly meetings has been changed to 7 p.m. from 8 p.m.

The 7 p.m. start time will be in effect for meetings being held in the months of January, February, March and April.

In May, the start time will return to 8 p.m.

The meetings are held on the third Wednesday of every month.

The union’s executive board agreed to the changes.

 

With income tax time just around the corner, the federal government has announced that tradespeople can continue to deduct from their income part of the cost of tools purchased throughout the year. The cost includes any GST and provincial sales tax, or HST. An eligible tool is a tool (including associated equipment such as a toolbox) that: you bought to use in your job as a tradesperson and was not used for any purpose before you bought it; your employer certified as being necessary for you to provide as a […]

With income tax time just around the corner, the federal government has announced that tradespeople can continue to deduct from their income part of the cost of tools purchased throughout the year.

The cost includes any GST and provincial sales tax, or HST.

An eligible tool is a tool (including associated equipment such as a toolbox) that:

• you bought to use in your job as a tradesperson and was not used for any purpose before you bought it;
• your employer certified as being necessary for you to provide as a condition of, and for use in, your job as a tradesperson; and
• is not an electronic communication device (like a cell phone) or electronic data processing equipment (unless the device or equipment can be used only for the purpose of measuring, locating, or calculating).

The employer must complete and sign Form T2200, Declaration of Conditions of Employment for the tradesperson.

If you were a tradesperson in 2012, click here for the formula to calculate your maximum tradesperson’s tools deduction.

The claim can be entered on the “tradesperson’s tools expenses line” (1770) of Form T777, Statement of Employment Expenses.