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Chief health officer says situation remains fluid, with some key workers still absent but others returning to city workplace
Toronto sets January date for city workers to return to the office, amid rising COVID-19 cases, Omicron uncertainty
Toronto workers are back to work, albeit on an uncertain schedule, after a dispute between the city and its public workers on strike over wages.
On Tuesday, city health officials said they had received a total of three confirmed cases of COVID-19 – acute myeloid leukemia – since workers went on strike on Monday.
A 12-hour work stoppage had created a backlog in admissions to the city’s public health units.
“The situation remains fluid, and further work stoppages could be in the works,” the city said in a statement.
A spokesman for city council told the Guardian the figure was accurate.
Workers walk off the job in Toronto over proposed job cuts Read more
A court date for talks on the dispute has been set for 22 November.
Negotiations on the contract first broke down in July. The six-year deal would have frozen wages for city workers, but the union says that compared with other local governments in the area, it will cost $370m to $425m.
Workers had already been granted a six-day strike notice, and the Ontario premier, Doug Ford, ordered the province’s public services into restoration mode if a deal wasn’t reached by Friday.
The strike is the first in the city since 2005.