The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in Toronto will reopen to the public on 30 April, more than a month after workers there went on strike, prompting the museum to close. Members of Local 535 of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/SEFPO) began striking on 26 March after a breakdown in long-running contract negotiations with museum administrators over issues including protections for precarious part-time workers and wage increases.
After a reported 16-hour bargaining session resulted in a tentative agreement in the early hours of 25 April, that agreement was put to a wider vote, with 85% of voting members approving the new contract. OPSEU/SEFPO Local 535 represents more than 400 workers at the museum across many departments, including assistant curators, archivists, food and hospitality staff, researchers, technicians, carpenters, electricians, instructors, designers and visitor services staff.
As part of the new contract, full-time and part-time workers will receive an 11.4% wage increase retroactive to December 2021. The agreement also includes improved meal allowances, bereavement leave for full-time employees and more.
“The dedication of workers standing up together after years of deteriorating working conditions at the gallery was nothing short of inspiring,” Paul Ayers, the president of OPSEU/SEFPO Local 535, said in a statement. “The relationships workers forge with each other through strikes are a mosaic of victories. We’re facing tomorrow together, as a stronger union who knows the full-time and part-time fights are indivisible. And we’re not done here—this is only the beginning.”