Ontario Construction News staff writer
Trade unions in the ICI sector across Ontario are reporting a successful round of contract negotiations as U.S. tariffs, an uncertain economy and competition from non union shops encourage settlements without work stoppages.
That’s in contrast to the 2022 bargaining cycle during a period of high inflation that saw numerous proposed contracts rejected in ratification votes and five ICI strikes.
Workers including painters, plumbers/steamfitters, and glaziers ratified agreements in their industrial, commercial, institutional sector negotiations in May, with others such as refrigeration workers and insulators saying they expect to reach a deal soon.
Wage increases totalling around 8 per cent over three years have been typical although trades including plumbers in the Toronto area achieved a total hike of 9.7 per cent over the period.
Electrical Workers announced a three-year agreement for a 6.9 per cent wage increase while the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners says members in the ICI sector have ratified an Ontario-wide collective bargaining agreement with an 8 per cent wage increase over three years.
The Construction Labour Relations Association of Ontario, representing five trades, anticipates a largely strike-free ICI bargaining cycle focused on cost-of-living issues and the needs of both union and management.
Among trades represented by the CLRAO carpenters, labourers, operating engineers, cement masons and plasterers have ratified deals while rod workers and bricklayers are expected to vote on tentative agreements in early June.
The Architectural Glass and Metal Contractors Association and the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades reached a deal that was ratified by union members in May 2025 for an 8 per cent wage increase over three years.
Members of the United Association Local 46 High Rise Residential Plumbers have ratified an agreement after a brief walkout while members of the residential roofing subsector of Carpenters Local 27 in Toronto were on a legal strike as of May 9.
Ontario’s labour relations legislation requires that the 25 unionized ICI trades in the province must bargain with their employer associations every three years after contacts expire at the end of April.