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Council looks to explore money saved during strike

WHITE ROCK - With the end of the city's civic worker strike nearly a month ago, city council is exploring the possibility of reimbursing taxpayers for any money saved

during the three-week job action.Coun. Grant Meyer introduced a notice of motion during Monday's council meeting requesting staff to look into the matter."This is quite simply regarding a possible rebate in the event that all the dust has settled, we might have a possible savings in tax," he said. "A lot goes into that and there are labour savings. That's the main cause for the motion here, to be on the up and up with taxpayers."Coun. Helen Fathers thanked staff for bringing the matter to the council's attention during the strike, and reiterated that she hoped to see some sort of savings found during the number crunching."Council discussed this right from the start," she said, adding that it was the "right thing to do."More than 100 of the city's CUPE 402-01 workers went on strike May 12 after nearly a year of negotiation and being withouta contract since December 2011. Services affected during the strike included garbage and waste collection, leisure services and roadwork and maintenance.All city buildings, save for White Rock City Hall, were shut down during the strike. At issue were long-term disability, and conditions of employment for part-time and casual workers. A deal was ratified on June 2. cpoon@thenownewspaper.com