(OTTAWA) Personal Choice Independent Living workers are at work on Saturday morning after reaching a tentative deal just a few hours before the strike deadline.
"OPSEU is proud of the PCIL workers for reaching a deal," said OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas.
"This has been a very difficult round of bargaining," said OPSEU Regional Vice-President, David Lundy. "The workers endured numerous threats including job loss and the use of temporary replacement workers. The employer even threatened to shut down their agency entirely rather than come to a fair agreement."
The new two-year tentative agreement includes a 2.5% signing bonus in the first year, and a 1.5% wage increase in the second year.
"The bargaining team and I are happy to have reached an agreement this evening rather than risk a strike," said OPSEU negotiator Sonia Boudreau. "For the sake of both the workers and the PCIL clients, we are happy to say that everyone can rest easy tonight. We also want to thank the tenants for their patience and support through what has been a hard time for everyone involved."
PCIL is a not-for-profit agency with a net worth of almost a million dollars. Its revenues quadrupled for 2010, and it is actively planning a significant expansion of services.
With three locations in Ottawa, PCIL offers a group home environment providing 24-hour support for daily living to adults with physical life challenges.
For more information:
Sonia Boudreau, OPSEU Staff Representative/ Negotiator 613-447-8631
David Lundy, OPSEU Regional Vice-President 613-213-1953