News Releases - Toronto Public Library

Library Board approves a new 4-year agreement with Toronto Public Library Workers’ Union Local 4948

TORONTO – March 29, 2012, 10:00pm – The Toronto Public Library Board today approved a new 4-year agreement with the Toronto Public Library Workers’ Union Local 4948, which represents the library’s 2,300 library workers. Full library services will resume and branches will re-open on Friday March 30th at 10:30am.

“I am pleased that we have been able to reach a new collective agreement with Local 4948 and are able to quickly resume full library service to the residents of Toronto,” said Library Board Chair, Councillor Paul Ainslie. “This agreement is fair to our employees, affordable to the residents of Toronto, and will allow us to efficiently deliver the excellent library services that Torontonians value so much.” Councillor Ainslie also recognized the efforts of both the Library and the union bargaining teams and thanked them for their efforts in reaching this agreement.

The agreement, approved at a special meeting of the Toronto Public Library Board earlier this evening, achieves the bargaining objectives set by the Board and is also in line with recent City settlements and budget parameters.

Details of the Agreement

The new agreement provides employees with a modest wage increase in the second, third and fourth year of the contract. These increases are 0.225 per cent (2013), 1.75 per cent (2014) and 2.25 per cent (2015). There is no wage increase for 2012 but employees will receive a lump sum payment of 1.5 per cent to be paid on January 1, 2013.

The new agreement also includes a new Job Security provision which states that there shall be no layoffs of full-time and part-time employees with 11 years’ seniority or more. The Library’s seniority is an integrated list of full-time, part-time and Page employees – which is unique to the Library – and so under the Library’s provision, 59 per cent of employees do not have job security protection.

Full details of the new agreement are posted here.

Details of Resumption of Library Services

All Toronto Public Library branches will reopen tomorrow, Friday March 30th, at 10:30am with normal operating hours. Most regularly scheduled programs and services will also resume. Customers are asked to check the library website at torontopubliclibrary.ca or to call Answerline at 416-393-7131 to check availability of services and whether particular programs have been cancelled.

Library customers will not be charged for any materials that became overdue during the labour disruption, and library customers have 2 weeks to return overdue materials without being charged fines. Any fines accrued prior to the labour disruption are still the responsibility of library customers to pay.

Customers who have holds that were filled prior to the labour disruption have two weeks to pick them up. Any holds that were placed during the labour disruption will be filled as usual and customers will be notified when their holds are available.

If customers have any questions related to their library services, they are encouraged to call Answerline or speak to staff at their local branch. See more information here.

Toronto Public Library is the world's busiest urban public library system. Every year, more than 19 million people visit our branches in neighbourhoods across the city and borrow over 33 million items. To learn more about Toronto Public Library, visit our website at torontopubliclibrary.ca or to call Answerline at 416-393-7131.

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Media Contact:
Anne Marie Aikins
416-629-0556
[email protected]