Union vs Non-Union Janitorial Contracts in Ontario: The Rules

What to take away

What is being compared

Two contract structures for the same building. In a unionized building, the cleaning contractor signs a collective agreement with a union certified for that workforce, and that agreement sets pay rates, hours, benefits and grievance steps. In a non-union building, the contractor sets terms under provincial employment standards alone.

The contract between owner and cleaning company is separate from the collective agreement. The owner buys a service; the union agreement binds the employer. That split confuses many first-time bidders.

Federal workplaces answer to different rules. The federal labour program page explains which employers fall under the Canada Labour Code rather than provincial law.

The rules and the bodies differ by province. Union status is certified by the Ontario Labour Relations Board in Ontario, the Labour Relations Board of British Columbia under BC's Labour Relations Code, the Alberta Labour Relations Board under Alberta's Labour Relations Code, and the Canada Industrial Relations Board for federally regulated workplaces. The non-union side runs on the employment standards statutes: Ontario's Employment Standards Act, 2000, British Columbia's Employment Standards Act and Alberta's Employment Standards Code. Quebec and the other provinces and territories have their own labour and employment statutes and are outside this comparison.

The criteria that matter

Cost is one row, not the whole table. A bid that wins on hourly rate alone can lose on retraining and rework.

The legal backdrop for either structure is ordinary contract law, and the essential elements overview is a useful reminder of what a signed cleaning agreement must actually contain.

Option by option

The same building can be cleaned under either model. What changes is who sets the wage floor, how much of the bid is fixed in advance, and what happens when the contract is re-tendered.

Unionized contracts

Wage grids are published inside the collective agreement, so both owner and contractor can see the floor. Benefit contributions are typically cents per hour worked, which turns into a predictable monthly figure. Overtime and shift premiums are fixed.

The trade-off is rigidity. Adding a weekend shift or changing start times may require union discussion. Ontario bargaining rules sit in the Labour Relations Act, and federally regulated employers follow the Canada Labour Code.

The Ontario act matters most at re-tender. Section 69.1 is its successor-rights section for building services, and it applies to building cleaning services: when the cleaning contract moves to a new contractor, the change can be deemed a sale of a business, so the union's bargaining rights and agreement can follow the work. A bidder replacing a unionized incumbent in Ontario should price on that basis, not on a fresh start.

Non-union contracts

Rates are set by the employer above the provincial floor. The provincial minimum wage anchors the bottom of the range, and benefit spending is optional. Bids can be tailored to a building's schedule quickly.

The floor differs by province and changes every year. In Ontario, the general minimum wage rate is $17.95 per hour from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, up from $17.60. In British Columbia, the BC minimum wage has been $18.25 per hour since June 1, 2026. Alberta's floor is set under its Employment Standards Code. A non-union bid priced on last year's floor is already out of date.

The trade-off is variability. Two non-union bids for the same square footage can differ by a wide margin, and the difference usually shows up in staffing hours rather than supplies.

Where each one wins

Unionized wins in downtown Toronto and Vancouver towers where tenants expect consistent daytime staffing and the owner wants a defensible wage position. It also wins where a building already has a unionized security or maintenance workforce.

Non-union wins in suburban Alberta office parks, single-tenant buildings and short-term leases where the owner needs flexibility more than stability. It also wins where the cleaning scope is light and the schedule is fixed.

A third path exists: a non-union contractor bidding into a building with a unionized incumbent. That is where wage assumptions break, and it is worth reading how Canadian cleaning firms price contracts under provincial employment standards before submitting a number.

What none of them solve

Neither structure guarantees clean floors. Supervision, inspection frequency and the contractor's willingness to replace a weak crew member decide that.

Both models also share one limitation: they fix the cost of labour, not the cost of poor work. A missed lobby or a failed inspection costs the same under either agreement.

Owners should build a checking routine into the contract regardless of union status. A practical starting point is quality control in a commercial cleaning business, which describes how owners verify work rather than assume it.

A collective agreement sets the wage floor. It does not set the standard of clean.

Example

A 40,000 square foot Vancouver office tower with a unionized incumbent receives three bids. Two assume the existing wage grid; the third assumes Alberta-style rates and a thinner crew.

That third bid looks lowest on paper, but it fails at the reference check stage. The property manager asks how the bidder will staff the building under the current agreement, and asking early saves a re-tender.

Common questions

Does a unionized building always cost more?

Usually the hourly labour line is higher, but total cost depends on turnover, retraining and inspection failures. A stable unionized crew can cost less over a three-year term than a churning non-union one.

Can a non-union contractor bid on a unionized building?

Yes, unless the building or the incumbent's agreement restricts it. The bidder must still meet the wage and benefit terms that apply to the workforce, which is why the assumption check matters.

Who decides whether the contract is union or non-union?

The workforce decides through certification before the provincial labour relations board (or the Canada Industrial Relations Board for federal workplaces), and the employer negotiates the agreement. The building owner sets expectations in the RFP but cannot simply declare the status.

Where does the collective agreement show up in the contract?

It does not, directly. It shows up as a labour cost line, a staffing requirement and sometimes a clause requiring the contractor to remain compliant with applicable labour law. Owners of unionized buildings often add a clause on how wage increases negotiated during the term are passed through, so the price is not reopened every time the agreement changes.