OPSEU/SEFPO Joint Health and Safety Committee [JHSC]

Corrections and Youth Justice members elect new leaders and raise almost $28K for Badge of Life Canada

November 1, 2024

OPSEU/SEFPO Correctional Bargaining Unit delegates from every OPS Corrections and Youth Justice local elected their leaders at the biennial OPS Correctional Bargaining Unit Divisional Meetings October 26-27, 2024. (Scroll down for election results.) They also received reports from their Ministry Employee Relations Committee (MERC) teams, their health and safety committees and their bargaining team, as...

Time to put the politics of division aside – and invest in our common future

January 8, 2021

On December 17, a Quebec-based union called la Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) announced it was shutting down its campaign to raid OPSEU/SEFPO’s 9,000 Correctional Bargaining Unit members. As your Ministry Employee Relations Committee (MERC), Provincial Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (PJOSHC) and Divisional Health and Safety (DHS) members, we are pleased that CSN...

OPSEU/SEFPO files health and safety appeal to protect members in court

December 18, 2020

On November 20, 2020, OPSEU/SEFPO filed a health and safety appeal at the Ontario Labour Relations Board following the failure of the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development to address ongoing safety complaints lodged by Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG) support staff. OPSEU/SEFPO represents nearly 6,000 members with MAG. Most are women and/or...

OPSEU corrections members win push for surgical masks

April 23, 2020

Toronto – In a significant safety win for workers, inmates, and the public, the frontline corrections workers in OPSEU have pushed the government to begin issuing surgical masks to all workers and visitors in the province’s jails. “This was a long struggle, but I’m proud to say that our members and our union never gave...

OPSEU President says workers at risk due to Ford changes to safety training

February 1, 2019

Toronto – OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas is raising red flags over the Ford government’s decision to allow online health and safety certification training, saying workers’ safety will be at risk. “Premier Ford is cutting corners and is gambling with the lives of Ontario workers,” Thomas said. “He is putting a price tag on the...

Health and safety – a casualty of penny-pinching at violent institutions

December 20, 2018

Toronto – Until this week, Ontario’s most violent correctional institutions had a full-time local union health and safety co-chair. But from now on, Toronto South Detention Centre and the Central East Detention Centre in Lindsay will have to get by without these full-time positions. The presidents of Local 368 (Central East) and Local 5112 (Toronto...

OPSEU makes great strides to prevent workplace violence at CAMH

July 13, 2018

On July 4, 2018, OPSEU Local 500 held a Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)/union barbecue, where local president Nancy Pridham, Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) Local 054 president Danielle Larmand and CAMH CEO Dr. Catherine Zahn handed out a scroll listing achievements made over the last year to prevent workplace violence. They include: a...

International RSI Awareness Day, Because Work Shouldn't Hurt

RSI Awareness Day February 28, 2018: Health and Dignity for All

February 23, 2018

Work should not hurt. Join us in Toronto on February 28, 2018 for the 19th Annual Repetitive Strain Injury Awareness Day event. You will hear from injured workers and experts and we will strategize to prevent and compensate repetitive strain injuries suffered at work. OPSEU is proud to be part of this day that was...

New laws give health and safety activists more power to protect themselves and the public

January 18, 2018

On January 1, two new laws took effect in Ontario, ushering in important changes for all workers. The two laws are Bill 148, “A Plan for Fair Workplaces and Better Jobs”, and Bill 177 “The Stronger Fairer Ontario Act” (also known as the Elliot Lake Bill). If you’re on a joint health and safety committee...

Waypoint workers need a safer workplace

June 9, 2016

We take care of some of Canada's most dangerous patients. But who's watching our backs? Workers at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care don’t feel safe. Violent incidents are on the rise and the building itself is a health and safety hazard. We are asking for: Security personnel on all wards to respond quickly to...

Protect patients and staff: labour board

May 31, 2016

Brockville – An Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) order made on May 30 that helps protect staff and patients at Brockville Mental Health Centre should be applied provincewide, according to the president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU). “For the first time in Ontario history, a quasi-judicial body has confirmed that security personnel...

Ministry of Labour must act now to protect health care workers from violence

May 18, 2016

Brockville – The Ontario Public Service Employees Union is calling on the Ministry of Labour to immediately implement measures to minimize the risk of violence to workers in health care facilities. OPSEU is closely monitoring the start of court proceedings today against Royal Ottawa Health Care Group. The hospital is facing five charges under the...

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inSolidarity Committee, 2024-2026

The editorial committee of inSolidarity is elected every other year at the biennial Editors’ Weekend event, which is open to all OPSEU/SEFPO members in good standing to attend.

inSolidarity Committee members:

Craig Hadley, L 5109
Michael Hamilton, L 376
Wendy Lee, L 575
Alexandrea Seggewiss, L 715
Lorinda Seward, L 351, editor

Alternates:

Christopher Arndt L 241 (1)
Angela Speers, L 684 (2)
Duc Vu, L 230 (3)
Michele Morrison, L 222 (4)
Lorrie Scuffell, L 4100 (5)

Ex-officio:

Vikki Poirier – Executive Board Liaison
Andy Pedersen – OPSEU/SEFPO Communications Staff Liaison

How to submit an article to inSolidarity

The editorial committee of inSolidarity welcomes contributions from OPSEU/SEFPO members and retirees in good standing. Please read the Editorial Policy below for content guidelines.

To contribute an article to an upcoming issue of inSolidarity, please send it by email to [email protected]. Your submission should include your full name and local number.

Editorial Policy

The content and editing of this newsletter are determined by the committee. We want members to feel ownership of inSolidarity and view it as independent of any particular segment of the union. Content comes from our base of activists, staff and other labour sources.

Where an article has a byline, the views are those of the author and not necessarily the views of OPSEU/SEFPO. While we welcome your contributions, we ask that they be constructive. All articles should be signed and include your local number, and should contribute positively to OPSEU/SEFPO’s mission.

We encourage thoughtful discussion of all related issues and reserve the right to edit for libel, length and clarity, and to reply to those that seem to reflect a misunderstanding of the union and its policies.