Lousy pay behind staff shortage, long waits for city 311 service: union leader

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/04/2022 (1269 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A key city union is demanding immediate talks on raising the wages of 311 staff, arguing a pay hike is desperately needed to attract staff and reduce soaring wait times.

In a Tuesday email to city council members obtained by the Free Press, Canadian Union of Public Employees local 500 president Gord Delbridge argues there’s an immediate need to raise the current $14.11 hourly pay rate for the positions.

“Council is aware that 311 staff are some of the lowest paid staff at the City of Winnipeg, with difficult working conditions. Now with current rate of inflation, and (a) tightening market for workers in Manitoba, 311 is simply not a competitive place of employment,” writes Delbridge, noting some cities pay double Winnipeg’s rate for similar positions.

He directly linked lower pay to the city’s trouble in attracting and keeping 311 employees.

The city recently confirmed staff turnover is high within the 311 service and the total number of employees is falling. The city had 105 full-time 311 positions filled in 2019; there are now 72.

In an interview, Delbridge said a staff shortage is behind the long wait times plaguing 311, which was designed to be a convenient first point of contact for residents to file complaints or request information about city services.

The wait times for 311 calls surged to an average of 11 minutes and 42 seconds in 2021, up from 5:27 in 2020. Some residents have reported waits in excess of two hours.

“Now that they’re having retention and recruitment issues, we hear constant complaints about 311 and (residents not) being able to access this important service… (the city does) know it’s a problem (and) they can take immediate action to address this,” Delbridge told the Free Press.

The union leader said some fast-food jobs pay better. He suggested that since 311 positions require plenty of knowledge and can be quite stressful, a wage of “at least” $17 an hour is justified.

“They should be paying a living wage at the very least,” he said.

Coun. Shawn Nason, who has long criticized 311 wait times, said the city should consider all options to improve the service, including a wage increase.

“Residents don’t expect to be on hold for two hours, it’s unacceptable.… (The city needs) to move and move fast on advancing and changing how we do business, when it comes to first point of contract,” said Nason. “We should be looking hard and fast at how we can correct what is so miserably broken.”

Felicia Wiltshire, Winnipeg’s communications director, said the city has already committed to reviewing 311 wages over the next two to four months.

“We acknowledge that work needs to be done to address employee retention, including a look at compensation. We are currently working… to determine what adjustments, if any, may be required to address these issues,” she wrote in an emailed statement.

The city’s poverty-reduction strategy also commits the municipal government to provide a living wage for all city employees by 2023, she noted.

Joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

-30-