Ontario Electrical Contractor 11 intertek.com/inspections icenter@intertek.com 1-905-678-7820 Intertek is pleased to offer field labelling and inspection for both electrical equipment to SPE-1000 and medical electrical equipment to SPE-3000. The ETL mark on our special inspection label tells inspectors, or AHJ’s, that the product complies with nationally accepted standards and includes a unique serial number that is recorded in your report. FIELD LABELING OF ELECTRICAL & MEDICAL EQUIPMENT TO SCHEDULE A SPECIAL INSPECTION IN ONTARIO There is no way to know where we would be right now had we not signed off on the last Joint Proposal. There is a chance that IBEW members would have been on strike on May 1, 2019, which would not have benefited ECAO contractors nor IBEW members. It’s also tough to predict what the wage increase would have been had we waited to be one of the last trades to negotiate. It’s tough to predict what language changes, if any, we would have agreed upon. Some may think that the Joint Proposal is what prevents us from changing the language. It may be a contributing factor, but as Scott Thompson noted, “throughout [the] period of traditional bargaining between 1978 and 1990 the only material language change to the Principal Agreement occurred in 1982.”1 That period of traditional bargaining included four strikes during a 12-year period. Where are we now? Without a doubt, both parties need to take steps to increase market 1  Scott Thompson, History of Provincial Bargaining Between the ETBA and the IBEW/IBEW-CCO: Part One, ECAO Electrical Contractor Magazine, Vol 56, Issue 3, Q3 2018 share, increase the number of manhours worked by IBEW members and increase the number of IBEW members. We know that our members could get more market share if they become more competitive in the market. WSIB data shows that in Rate Group 704 alone,theWSIBhourshaveincreasedbyalmost 100 per cent since 2000.2 By comparison, IBEW/ECAO manhours were 15,858,523 in 2000 and those manhours include hours by employees in WSIB Rate Group 820. Total manhours, and these are earned manhours, not worked hours, were 21,046,455 in 20173 ; an increase of 32 per cent. We’ve heard many arguments as to why these numbers may not accurately depict our members’ market share. Yet, how can we explain the fact that WSIB hours have increased drastically more than hours worked by our members. 2  WSIB Rate Group 704 hours: 53,100,000 in 2000. WSIB Rate Group 704 hours were 101,909,336 in 2017  Source: WSIB Data from CU Profiles for Rate Group 704 3 ECAO Manhour reports Nonetheless, this round of bargaining showed that some areas in the Province want to increase market share and increase the hours their members work each year. This was evident in the areas where local agreements were reached; either with or without the assistance of a medi- ator. It was refreshing to see so many positive changes and a willingness to work together to get more work for our collective members. Also, Section 3 of the Principal Agreement permits amendments by mutual agreement, whether provincial or local, throughout the life of the agreement. We will continue to work towards making meaningful changes over the next few years; changes that make our mem- bers more competitive and increase the hours worked by IBEW members. Improvements need to be made to hours of work, mobility, and hiring. It is important to consider new classifications similar to what’s been done in the United States over the last 10 years. What can you do? Be part of the solution. Have a voice. Participate at the local and provincial level. Attend meetings. Get involved with discussions about capturing market share.