December 5, 2006
Corrections welcomes the new
faces on the MERC
At the OPS Divisional
meetings held November 25, delegates to the meeting
elected the new Corrections MERC Team for 2006-2008.
Three new members
were elected to the team. Dan Sidsworth, a
Correctional Officer from Local 234 at Vanier/Maplehurst
Complex, was elected Chair of the team. Paul
Johnstone from Local 224, Owen Sound Jail, and Eddie
Almeida from Local 248, Hamilton-Wentworth Detention
Centre, were also elected. Gord Longhi, Probation
and Parole Representative, was re-elected to the
team and was also elected team Vice-Chair.
Members elected to
the Provincial Health and Safety Team are:
Curt Bishop, Chair,
Local 670, Algoma Correctional and Treatment Centre;
Lisa Kitchen, Vice-Chair, Local 154, Windsor P&P;
Brian Chauvin, Local 135, Windsor Jail, and; Emidio
Casullo, Local 234, Vanier/Maplehurst Complex.
Dan Sidsworth says he
looks forward to leading the Corrections Division
for the next two years.
“We certainly have
some challenges ahead of us,” he said. “We need to
ensure that the design of the new facilities
scheduled for construction is appropriate and that
the facilities remain public. Overcrowding in the
facilities and workload issues in P&P are still
plaguing our members. And health and safety issues
are always a large part of the delivery of
correctional services. We certainly won’t have a
lack of things to do.”
The updated MERC Team
listing is on the OPSEU website at:
http://www.opseu.org/ops/merc/mercindex.htm.
“Thanks for all your
support”
Outgoing MERC Chair
Dave Graves thanks all the members of the
Corrections Division for their support, especially
over the past year.
“It definitely wasn’t
easy taking over the Chair position last year, and I
couldn’t have done it if it wasn’t for the support
of Len Mason, Neil Fraser, Gord Longhi, Rick
Dagenais, and especially OPSEU Job Security Officer
Sandra Harper. They were integral in keeping the
MERC on track and focused on the outstanding
issues.”
Dave, who didn’t
stand for reelection this term, also thanks the
members of the Division who have given incredible
support to the team.
“The Corrections
Division is only as strong as it is because of the
strength of the members’ support,” he said. “We
couldn’t do our job without you.”
Dave Graves was
elected to the MERC in 1996, and prior to that was
on the 1996 OPS Corrections bargaining team. Dave
was also on the last two bargaining teams in 2002
and 2005.
Mimico no longer being
decommissioned
Staff at Mimico C.C.
who received surplus notices can now file those
under “Not At This Time.”
An agreement signed
Nov. 20, 2006 between the Ministry and the MERC
spells out the details for the reversal of the
decision to close Mimico.
In a nutshell, the
agreement rescinds all surplus notices that were
issued to staff on November 27, 2002, February 27,
2003, April 23, 2003, May 24, 2006 and June 7, 2006.
Affected staff have the option of electing to
remain/return as an employee to Mimico Correctional
Centre based upon available positions and their
respective continuous service date.
Please note that
staff who have already taken Pay In Lieu or who left
under VEO will not be affected.
If you have any
questions, please call Dan Sidsworth at (416)
807-3469 or Sandra Harper at 1-800-268-7376 Ext.
8227. You can also read the full text of the
agreement at:
http://www.opseu.org/ops/ministry/locktalk/mimico_2006.pdf
e-mail:
dford@opseu.org
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