Several more OPSEU/SEFPO units in community, health and social services have reached agreements to end strikes, with historic deals that are raising the floor for workers supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.
Nearly 4,000 community, health and social services workers went on strike or were locked out in late May. The workers are part of Worth Fighting For – a coordinated bargaining campaign fighting for funding, fair wages, and the future of services that our communities rely on.
As workers continue their fight for funding and a remedy for Bill 124 – the Ford Government’s unconstitutional wage suppression legislation – they are making significant wins at the bargaining table that some members have described as life changing.
Those wins – including improvements to wages, pensions and working conditions – won’t just benefit frontline workers. They will help address the recruitment and retention crisis in these sectors: keeping experienced workers in these jobs and protecting continuity of care and support.
In sectors such as developmental services, workers are establishing a new trend for wages after years of stagnation – a standard OPSEU/SEFPO is calling on other employers to recognize. Several units have also made significant gains for part-time and casual workers, in sectors where part-time and precarious work remains a serious issue, and secured foundational improvements such as pensions.
“Every strong agreement helps set a higher standard for the next group of workers at the bargaining table. Using our collective power to win better for workers and for the people who rely on these services – that’s what Worth Fighting For is all about,” said JP Hornick, OPSEU/SEFPO President.
In total, ten OPSEU/SEFPO units have reached agreements or awards to end their strikes or lockouts – more than one third of the units that took strike action in May. Workers at 13 agencies remain on strike, and OPSEU/SEFPO is calling on employers to come to the table now and negotiate deals that recognize the standards workers are establishing across these sectors.
Negotiations have broken down at several tables, with some employers using stall tactics, refusing to disclose financial information, low-balling wage offers or attempting to impose return-to-work conditions that would leave workers vulnerable to reprisals and unfair changes to their working conditions. Management at two agencies – Sistering and Dr Roz’s Healing Place – have yet to agree to return to the bargaining table.
“There is a clear path for employers to end these strikes,” added Hornick. “We are urging employers to recognize the trends that has been set and get workers back to the people they support now.”
OPSEU/SEFPO units that have reached settlements include:
- OPSEU/SEFPO Local 262 – Lynwood Charlton Centre
- OPSEU/SEFPO Local 358 – Community Living Trent Highlands
- OPSEU/SEFPO Local 355 – Kinark Child and Family Services
- OPSEU/SEFPO Local 448 – Community Living Prince Edward
- OPSEU/SEFPO Local 441 – Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Mental Health and Addictions
- OPSEU/SEFPO Local 166 – Community Living London
- OPSEU/SEFPO Local 740 – Community Living Thunder Bay
- OPSEU/SEFPO Local 361 – Murray McKinnon Foundation
- OPSEU/SEFPO Local 511 – Surrey Place
- OPSEU/SEFPO Local 310 – Sandgate Women’s Shelter of York Region