Operations suspended at Corner Brook Civic Centre after city locks out workers
The City of Corner Brook has locked out workers at the Civic Centre.
In a statement, the city said it had no choice but to make the decision based on health and safety risks, as well as the facility’s heating and cooling systems, which they say could not be left unattended at a moment’s notice. The city said it had asked CUPE to commit to provide at least 24 hours’ notice before striking, but CUPE did not make that commitment.
All scheduled programming, bookings, ice activities, and non-ice facility access including their tenants are paused until further notice.
Throughout negotiations, the city said it tabled a total compensation proposal valued at 12% over four years (2026–2029), consisting of a 10% wage increase and an additional 2% increase to the base wages. The 2% includes adding $1.00 per hour to wages of the Cleaners and the Facility Technicians plus rolling in a $2.00 per hour premium to the base wage for the Power Engineers. The City believes this offer is fair and aligns will with other municipalities.
CUPE 4386, however, says the Civic Centre staff are the lowest paid workers in Newfoundland and Labrador, and deserve better wages, which they have been fighting for since their contracts expired last year. They have been in a legal strike position since Oct. 10, but were hopeful they could reach an agreement with the City during their conciliation yesterday, which continued into today.
The City says they remain committed to reaching a fair and fiscally responsible agreement with CUPE Local 4386 and look forward to getting back to the bargaining table to achieve this goal.
NTV News will have more on this tonight during the NTV Evening Newshour.
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