Council voted in favour of outsourcing caretaking services at Windsor's city hall complex Monday.
The move will see the roles of seven full-time and seven part-time workers filled by staff with GDI Integrated Facility Services at a lower rate of pay.
A decision that came down to one vote and will see staff fill six positions through attrition instead of new hires, according to CUPE 543 President David Petten.
"It doesn't help out the community to have that type of division on council and I hope moving forward that council will take a longer look at these types of decisions and the true impact it has on our community," he added.
According to the report, six fulltime positions will be filled that were saved from retirements.
Petten says one full-time staffer will have to wait until a position frees up and part-time staff will stay on elsewhere and have their hours cut drastically.
"We shouldn't have any blinders on to think that attrition is somehow humane or beneficial," he says. "It does nothing for our community and it certainly does nothing for those precarious workers who will end up in those jobs."
The contract was awarded to GDI, a national facilities management firm with 200 workers in Windsor.
Petten says part of their labour will provide profits to be spent elsewhere.
"We're saving $300,000 a year, but I would argue that's $300,000 a year that was being spent in the community," he says.
The projected savings from the move is around $900,000 over a three-year contract. It's the second phase of an outsourcing plan that Petten says will cost all caretakers their jobs at some point in the future.
Mayor Drew Dilkens voted in favour of outsourcing the work along with councillors: Fred Francis, Jeewen Gill, Jo-Anne Gignac, Jim Morrison and Ed Sleiman.