McKenzie said a zoo offer to protect all current zoo staff from contracting out would create an unacceptable two-tiered system. “I honestly can’t predict how long the strike will last,” Christine McKenzie, a zookeeper who heads the union local, told the Star. Representatives of CUPE Local 1600 , representing more than 400 striking zoo staff, and managers of the city-owned facility in Scarborough have not met since contract negotiations halted May 20. With the Toronto Zoo strike in a bitter fourth week, both sides appear dug in for a closure into peak season when thousands of visitors normally stream daily through fare gates to see pandas and more. Giving existing workers job protection denied to most future staff would introduce “a draconian wedge into any workplace environment,” she said.

Source: thestar June 02, 2017 00:00 UTC