Hydro Ottawa workers begin strike action

Hydro Ottawa says a contingency plan is in place to keep the lights on as nearly 400 employees begin strike action to back demands for a new contract.

Trade, technical and inside workers at the utility began strike action at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, after 74 per cent of its members voted to reject the utility's latest contract offer. Hydro Ottawa says it offered workers a 13.6 per cent raise over four years.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers says the major issues in the dispute are compensation, benefits and the environment at Hydro Ottawa.

"Hydro Ottawa is one of the five largest utilities in the province; they tout themselves as a leader of the industry. The folks here rank approximately 23^rd on the list in compensation and benefits and that needs to change," Mike Hall, IBEW Local 636 business representative told CTV News Ottawa, Wednesday morning.

"In short, enough is enough. Not only do we need a fair deal, the environment here at Hydro Ottawa is poisoned, we have safety issues."

Hydro Ottawa workers were picketing outside Ottawa City Hall on Wednesday, where president and CEO Bryce Conrad was scheduled to appear before Council to discuss the 2022 hydro report. The appearance was deferred.

Hydro workers have been without a contract since March 31, 2023.

Hydro Ottawa says it provided a "fair and very competitive offer when comparing settlement trends within our industry," and warns response times may be slower in the event of a strike.

"Unfortunately, during this time, response times may be slower than under normal operating conditions," Hydro Ottawa said, adding it won't be "business as usual."

"Hydro Ottawa will continue to respond to electrical emergencies and public safety issues during the labour disruption. Non-emergency work will be delayed."

Hydro Ottawa says it has "additional resources ready" to support restoration efforts in the event of a strike.

The utility was reporting two outages on Wednesday morning, including one in College Ward due to a downed hydro line. Approximately 3,000 customers Kanata South and Stittsville were without power for several hours.

Electrical and non-electrical service requests scheduled for or after Wednesday will be rescheduled.

"Hydro Ottawa values and appreciates the hard work and dedication of all of our employees. Since I've been at this company, I've operated with an open door policy, this situation is no different," Conrad said in a statement.

"I encourage the IBEW to come back to the table to discuss their concerns - actually I welcome that and look forward to the discussion.

"Hydro Ottawa has initiated our plan to maintain service to our customers while making every effort to minimize the impact of any disruption on the customers we serve."

Hall says the union tried to avoid a strike, but it became a "necessary evil."

"For years, we've been trying to keep this in house; the folks here have been extremely patient and enough is enough."