Power outage? Prepare to wait as Hydro Ottawa workers walk off the job

Hydro Ottawa workers are now on strike and their union says customers experiencing outages should prepare to wait longer than usual to have power restored.

Approximately 400 utility workers could walk off the job as of 12:01 a.m. Wednesday after their union and the company failed to reach a new collective agreement. The current one expired in March.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 636 have a number of proposals on the table including higher wages, a new health and benefits package and improved safety for utility workers.

"Hydro Ottawa has provided its employees with a fair and very competitive offer which exceeds industry norms and recognizes the value of our employees to our operations," said Hydro Ottawa, which is wholly owned by the City of Ottawa.

According to the union's business manager, the offer didn't go far enough to address workers' concerns and more than 80 per cent of the union's members rejected it.

"Health and benefits haven't been looked at in over 10 years and we want a fair compensation … that recognizes equal treatment of their employees and respects their working concerns," said Domenic Murdaca.

Ottawa has experienced more extreme storms and weather, Murdaca said, which has members working in more dangerous conditions for longer hours. The union said it's fighting for both safety gear and rest periods in those cases.

After the strike began Wednesday, Hydro Ottawa said it offered a cumulative raise of 13.6 per cent over four years, saying it wants to strike a balance that includes electricity rates and climate adaptation.

It's not immediately clear when that offer was made.

Contingency plan in place, Hydro Ottawa says

Murdaca said customers could face longer outages in the event of a strong storm during the strike.

"If there's ever danger to the public and safety, we would never compromise that," Murdaca said. For instance, a hospital would never intentionally be left without power. 

However for the general public, "our services won't be there to restore power," he added.

The union represents customer service staff and trades workers. In its 2022 annual report, Hydro Ottawa said it employed more than 700 people at the end of that year.

In its statement, Hydro Ottawa said it has a contingency plan in place to maintain service to customers. 

"Resources are ready to support any power outage restoration efforts and we will do everything we can to ensure we respond to issues as safely and as quickly as possible," it read.

A post on its website early Wednesday said non-emergency work will be delayed, power restoration will be slower than normal, current service requests will be rescheduled and new ones will be processed "once normal business operations have resumed."

Murdaca said at this point, the union wants to continue talks at the bargaining table. Hydro Ottawa officials said "the lines of communication between Hydro Ottawa and the Union representatives remain open."