LIUNA Local 183 and Alpine Building Maintenance finalize three-year collective agreement covering cleaning workers at 87 City of Toronto buildings

The deal runs from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2028 and covers workers providing cleaning services at City of Toronto facilities including police divisions, civic centres, water treatment plants, animal shelters, and employment offices across the city.

At a glance

Union: Labourers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), Local 183
Employer: Alpine Building Maintenance Inc. (City of Toronto Buildings)
Province: Ontario
Term: January 1, 2026 – December 31, 2028
Bargaining unit: Cleaning services workers at 87 City of Toronto buildings
Top wage: Not disclosed in the main agreement; hourly rates are set in individual site schedules (Schedules A–E), which were not attached to the filed document
Vacation: Up to 5 weeks / 10% of gross earnings after 20 years of service
Benefits: Employer contributions to Local 183 Industrial Benefit Fund; pension contributions beginning January 1, 2027; retiree benefit fund and training fund contributions beginning January 1, 2028

Wages

Wage rates are set out in individual schedules attached to the agreement (Schedules A through E, corresponding to site groupings listed in Appendix B). Those schedules were not included in the document filed with the collective agreement. The following wage-related provisions apply across all schedules.

Lead Hand and Shift Premiums

Premium	Rate
Lead Hand premium	$0.80/hour above highest classification led
Midnight shift premium (majority of hours after 12:00 a.m.)	$0.75/hour

Red Circling

Employees already earning at or above the scheduled rate at the time of the agreement shall be “red circled” and receive the same percentage increases as other employees in each contract year.

Temporary Classification Changes

Employees directed by management to perform duties in a different classification for more than one hour per shift shall be paid the higher of the two applicable rates for all hours worked on that shift.

New Classifications

If the employer introduces a new job classification, the union and employer will meet to negotiate the applicable wage rate.

Benefits

Benefits contributions are remitted to the Local 183 Industrial Benefit Fund monthly, by the 15th of the month following the month in which they were earned
Part-time employees scheduled for fewer than 20 hours per week who are not entitled to benefits receive $1.00/hour in lieu of benefits; employees cannot opt out of benefits coverage to receive wages in lieu
Employees may opt in to a higher benefit plan once during the life of the agreement, with co-payment through payroll deduction
Overdue contributions (more than 30 days) are subject to a 2% interest charge

Pension (Article 4 — Appendix A)

Pension contributions to the Labourers Pension Fund for Central and Eastern Canada begin January 1, 2027:

Effective Date	Employer Contribution
January 1, 2027	$0.10/hour worked
January 1, 2028	$0.20/hour worked

Employees over 71 or currently receiving a pension whose contributions the Fund cannot accept will have equivalent amounts directed to the LIUNA Local 183 Excess Contributions Fund.

Retiree Benefit Fund (Article 5 — Appendix A)

Effective Date	Employer Contribution
January 1, 2028	$0.05/hour worked

Training Fund (Article 6 — Appendix A)

Contributions to the Labourers’ Local 183 Members’ Training and Rehabilitation Trust Fund:

Effective Date	Employer Contribution
January 1, 2028	$0.05/hour worked

Protective Clothing and Footwear Reimbursements

Employer supplies 4 short-sleeved uniform shirts per employee (long-sleeved available on request); coats provided for outdoor work
Uniform pants reimbursement: up to $40/year (receipt required)
Safety boots reimbursement: up to $125/year (receipt required; reimbursed within 14 days); employees receiving safety boot reimbursement are not entitled to anti-slip shoe reimbursement in the same year
Anti-slip shoes reimbursement: up to $60/year (receipt required; reimbursed within 14 days)

Hours, Overtime & Scheduling

Overtime threshold: Time and one-half (1.5x) for all hours worked in excess of 44 hours per week
Overtime rates are not pyramided; overtime will not be paid more than once for any hours worked
The employer must make every reasonable effort to distribute overtime equitably among employees who normally perform that work
Reporting pay: An employee who reports for a regularly scheduled shift and finds no work available (without prior notice) is entitled to 4 hours’ pay at their regular rate, provided they have not refused alternative available work of 4 hours or more
Hours per shift cannot be partially reduced — in a work shortage, layoff provisions apply
Employees must notify their supervisor at least 3 hours before a scheduled shift if they are unable to attend
Workload changes must be accompanied by a commensurate adjustment in paid time; no unreasonable accretion of work is permitted
Paid breaks: 15-minute paid break for each half-shift (4 hours) worked; a second 15-minute paid break for shifts of 7 hours or more
Unpaid lunch: 30-minute unpaid lunch break for shifts over 5 hours
Employees directed to attend staff meetings or in-service training during regular hours are compensated at their regular rate; attendance outside regular hours is compensated with equivalent time off

Leaves & Time Off

Vacation Entitlement

Years of Continuous Service	Vacation Pay	Time Off
Less than 1 year	4% of gross earnings	None specified
1 to less than 5 years	4%	2 weeks
5 to less than 10 years	6%	3 weeks
10 to less than 20 years	8%	4 weeks
20 years or more	10%	5 weeks

Vacation year runs January to December. Vacation pay is paid at the time of vacation or on request. Unused vacation pay is paid out by the second pay period in January at the prevailing December 31 wage rate. Vacation pay must be paid no later than the first pay period following termination.

Statutory Holidays

Holiday	Holiday
New Year’s Day	Civic Holiday
Family Day	Labour Day
Good Friday	Thanksgiving Day
Victoria Day	Christmas Day
Canada Day	Boxing Day

Holiday pay is calculated at straight-time rate multiplied by hours the employee would normally have worked. Work on a holiday is paid at 1.5x the regular hourly rate in addition to holiday pay. If a holiday falls during an employee’s vacation, the vacation is extended by one day or an alternative vacation day is provided.

Personal Days

Full-time employees: 11 personal days per calendar year
Part-time employees: 5 personal days per calendar year
Paid at straight-time rate for hours normally worked; unused days are cashable by the second payday in January
Must be requested at least 2 weeks in advance with management’s written approval
For illness or emergency, at least 2 hours’ notice is required
Employees hired after January 1 have personal days pro-rated for remaining months in the year

Bereavement Leave (Article 19)

Up to 5 consecutive paid scheduled days for the death of: a spouse; relatives dependent on the employee; parents, grandparents, children, children-in-law, grandchildren, or siblings of the employee or the employee’s spouse (including stepfamily)
2 scheduled days unpaid if the employee does not attend the funeral
Leave must include or immediately precede or follow the day of the funeral
Employer may request proof (e.g., death certificate)

Other Leaves

Leave of absence: Up to 6 weeks unpaid for personal reasons, at employer’s discretion; seniority ceases to accumulate after 6 weeks; extended leave possible but seniority freezes at 6-week mark
Jury duty / Crown witness: Employer tops up the difference between jury/witness fees and regular wages, capped at 4 weeks; employees must provide proof of attendance
Maternity leave / sick leave return: Employee placed in former shift and duties within 1 week of return, if available
Workers’ Compensation leave: Seniority accumulates during WSIB absences for up to 12 months unless a longer period is required by legislation

Other Highlights

Job Security / Layoff & Recall

The employer must not contract out any work previously performed by bargaining unit employees; breach results in damages to the union equal to union dues and all employer-paid contributions for all hours worked by non-union workers
Management representatives may not perform bargaining unit work except for instruction or in an unforeseen emergency
Layoff and recall decisions are based on skill, efficiency, qualifications, reliability, physical ability, and — where those factors are relatively equal — seniority
Loss of seniority occurs upon voluntary quit, discharge, absence due to layoff/accident/illness for 12 months or the employee’s length of seniority (whichever is shorter), failure to report within 3 days of recall notice, or 2 consecutive days absent without notice
Employees transferred outside the bargaining unit retain seniority for 1 year or the length of their seniority, whichever is shorter; employees promoted to supervisory roles retain seniority for 6 months or the length of their seniority, whichever is shorter
Loss of contract: If Alpine loses the City of Toronto contract, it must provide the successor employer with Bill 7 information under the Employment Standards Act, 2000, share it with the union within 1 day, and provide a report on used vacation and personal days within 5 days of turnover

Discipline

Progressive discipline applies; the employer has just cause for termination in cases of: threatening or using a weapon, theft, falsifying time records, sabotage, physical assault, drug or alcohol impairment at work, working elsewhere during an authorized leave without permission, sexual harassment, and security breaches
Disciplinary records may be removed from personnel files after 12 months of discipline-free conduct, provided the misconduct did not involve a violation of law or a breach of trust
Termination and suspension notices must be sent to the union within 24 hours (excluding weekends and statutory holidays)
Employees facing discipline have the right to a union steward at disciplinary meetings

Grievance & Arbitration

A three-step grievance procedure applies. Step 1 requires the employee to raise the complaint with their supervisor within 5 working days of the incident; the supervisor has 4 days to respond. Step 2 is a written grievance. Step 3 is a union-management meeting within 5 days of the grievance filing, with a written response within 5 business days. Discharge or suspension grievances commence at Step 3 within 3 days of the event. Unresolved grievances proceed to a sole arbitrator, agreed upon by the parties or appointed by the Ministry of Labour under section 49 of the Labour Relations Act. Arbitration costs are shared equally.

Health & Safety (Article 23)

Employees must report all work-related injuries to their supervisor immediately and comply with all obligations under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act
Employees returning from sick leave of 3 or more days, or with a pattern of repetitive absenteeism, must provide a Fitness for Duty report from a medical practitioner at their own expense
Employer provides change room space where available
All employees have the right to a harassment-free workplace; harassment is a disciplinary offence and grievable

No Individual Agreements

Employees may not be compelled to enter into individual employment contracts that vary the conditions of the collective agreement. Wage rates in the agreement are minimums; the employer may pay more.

Covered Work Locations

The agreement covers 87 City of Toronto buildings across the city, including police divisions and headquarters, civic centres, animal shelters, water treatment facilities, employment and social services offices, fire department yards, child care centres, and transit/storage yards. Sites are grouped into wage Schedules A through E. The full site list is in Appendix B of the agreement.

Source Document

https://hrnewscanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/186804.pdf