Local News

@Phantom I agree , but let's be realistic . If this was a privatly owned non union company ,I guarantee the offenders wouldn't be sitting at home on a paid suspension while they investigate. I remember this past summer where the city worker was reinstated after being convicted of impaired driving while being in a city owned vehicle.Collective bargaining agreement or not , if this was a non union employee he or she would be out on their ass with no compensation. Us employed in the private sector seem to obide by the rules a little more because we know we have no one to cover our buts.

@Average Joe @Average Joe, you are probably correct in your assessment that they would be fired outright with in a non Union workplace with little recourse that the Ontario Labour Relations Board. I think that everyone deserves a second chance and these employees are no different, remember too in this case we don't have the whole story either.

I work in a Union and the Company fires employees with long service for minor infraction on a consistent basis and at Arbitration the members more often than get their jobs back with a lengthy suspension. No one is ever suspended with pay either but the City workers have that and good for them.

In my mind ultimately the manager in charge of these employees who simply allow them to work a couple hours a day is at fault. if their assignments weren't completed then why were they not taken to task. This clearly wasn't a one off kind of thing say at Christmas but a regular occurrence.

Right or wrong most people in the same circumstance would do the same thing that these employees did.

@Phantom I see your union mentality here. Suspended with pay,that is total B.S. and as a taxpayer I am angry and offended. Why should we pay to be ripped off, that would be like paying a thief or a criminal a salary while they are out on bail . I am also offended by your comment that most people would do the same thing. At least I like most people have more respect for the people that pay my salary. Unions are outdated ,and in most cases protect people like this , that is not what unions were intended for .

@Average Joe Yes I do have a Union mentality and I see that you don't by your comments about Unions being outdated. The Unions protect all of their members. Some are bad employees but the vast majority are good employees. Union were intended to protect the interests of the members and ensure that as employees we receive fair and equitable treatment from the employer.

The suspension with pay is part of that like or not.

What if some or all of these employees are cleared should they should have been held out without a paycheck for weeks on end until the employer decides to deal with the allegations?

The suspension without pay ensures that the employees get a speedy investigation into the matter and a quick resolution good or bad.

You have to remember most of these clauses were negotiated in times of surplus for the City and now there are legacy costs.

@Phantom Ok suspend them with pay , and if they are found guilty of any wrongdoing , fine them [ the amount that they were paid while on suspension] and then suspend them without pay or fire them.
It's no wonder our taxes keep increasing this clause should not be negotiated into the contracts for crap like this. As for any surplus in the city it should not be allocated for this , there are alot of other ways that they can use the surplus that would be more beneficial to the tax payers rather than funding more paid time off for city employees.
One last thought , deduct the suspension days from their vacation time .