Crisis in Corrections
News
Stop blaming front line correctional staff who work under impossible conditions: OPSEU/SEFPO statement on ICIT deployment at Maplehurst Correctional Complex
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 23, 2024 TORONTO – OPSEU/SEFPO leaders are speaking out in order to provide much-needed context in…
Petition action: Urgent mental health supports for correctional workers
Content warning: This post contains mention of suicide. OPSEU/SEFPO correctional workers are facing a mental health crisis. Since October 2021,…
Correctional Services Staff Recognition Week 2024
During this year’s annual Correctional Services Staff Recognition Week (the first week of May), we recognize the important contribution to…
OPSEU/SEFPO wins Correctional Supervisor job competition grievance
Click here to download this notice in PDF format. The Ministry of the Solicitor General was wrong to directly assign…
Correctional workers at Queen's Park today: Fix Corrections with more staff, better infrastructure
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 6, 2023 TORONTO – Dozens of OPSEU/SEFPO correctional workers and OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick are at…
Corrections Cares 2023: Strengthening communities across Ontario
OPSEU/SEFPO correctional workers will be caring for their communities by raising money for local charities during the sixth annual Corrections…
OPSEU/SEFPO supports Chief Coroner's recommendations for reform in correctional institutions
For immediate release TORONTO – OPSEU/SEFPO welcomes the report of the Chief Coroner’s Expert Panel on Deaths in Custody –…
Cecil Facer Youth Centre closure will force youth in custody hours away from families
For Immediate Release SUDBURY – The staff of Cecil Facer Youth Centre (CFYC) learned this week that the 16-bed facility…
CBC: Overcrowding, discrimination identified in review of South West Detention Centre
The CBC is reporting that a review of conditions at the South West Detention Centre in Windsor has identified problems…
Windsor Star: Workplace review uncovers discrimination, 'culture of fear and distrust' at Windsor jail
The Windsor Star is reporting that a workplace review of the South-West Detention Centre in Windsor has uncovered a culture…
Ottawa Citizen publishes corrections MERC co-chair letter
The Ottawa Citizen has published a letter written by Chad Oldfield, MERC co-chair of OPSEU/SEFPO’s Correctional Bargaining Unit. Oldfield was…
OPSEU/SEFPO urges government to backtrack on ‘dangerous’ Corrections privatization scheme
Toronto – OPSEU/SEFPO is warning the provincial government that it will be making a dangerous mistake if it goes ahead…
Statement from OPSEU/SEFPO President Warren (Smokey) Thomas in response to Solicitor General Sylvia Jones’ visit to the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre (EMDC) this week
Toronto – I have learned that Minister Sylvia Jones and Ontario’s Deputy Solicitor General visited Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre today,…
President's letter to Solicitor General re harassment at EMDC
OPSEU/SEFPO President Warren (Smokey) Thomas sent the following letter to Solicitor General Sylvia Jones demanding she take immediate action to…
OPSEU/SEFPO takes London Free Press to task for irresponsible journalism
OPSEU/SEFPO President Warren (Smokey) Thomas sent the following letter to the London Free Press today to register a formal complaint…
OPSEU/SEFPO to Solicitor General: ‘Protect correctional staff from criminal biker gangs’
London – OPSEU/SEFPO President Warren (Smokey) Thomas is calling on the Solicitor General to take all necessary measures to protect…
Table Talk
LockTalk: Arbitration meeting held
The Corrections Bargaining team met with the Employer and Arbitrator William Kaplan to try to resolve the outstanding issues that…
OPS Table Talk 2016 Issue 50 – The arbitrator responds to the team
In Table Talk 49, your correctional bargaining team informed you that the employer had written to confirm their verbal position…
OPS Table Talk 2016 Issue 49 – Team goes back to the arbitrator
In Table Talk 48, your correctional bargaining team informed you that the arbitrator had made a wage award for the…
OPS Table Talk 2016 Issue 48 – Arbitrator awards wage increases
Arbitrator Kevin Burkett has awarded a three per cent special wage adjustment for correctional staff, commencing January 1, 2017. The…
OPS Table Talk 2016 Issue 47 – Corrections contract: it’s up to the arbitrator now
In Table Talk 46, we informed you that your correctional bargaining team had met with the mediator/arbitrator on March 13,…
OPS Table Talk 2016 Issue 46 – the parties head to arbitration
We informed you in Table Talk 45 that the union and the employer had agreed to a mediation/arbitration process to…
OPS Table Talk 2015 Issue 45 – Government to investigate bargaining-related incidents
Your correctional bargaining team met again with the employer on February 4. At the meeting, the employer indicated they had significantly…
OPS Table Talk 2015 Issue 44 – Lump sum to be paid out February 25
On February 25, all OPSEU members in the OPS will be paid the 1.4 per cent lump sum that was…
OPS Table Talk 2016 Issue 43 – Corrections bargaining enters new world today
The collective agreement signed today at 4:20 a.m. between OPSEU and the Government of Ontario begins a new era in…
OPS Table Talk 2016 Issue 42 – Corrections bargaining: further mediation set for January 8-9
Further mediation with the employer will take place on January 8, continuing on January 9 if required. We remind you…
OPS Table Talk 2015 Issue 41 - January 10 strike deadline expected in Corrections talks
OPSEU members in the Correctional Bargaining Unit can expect to be in a legal strike or lockout position on January…
OPS Table Talk 2015 Issue 40 – Employer won’t bargain; corrections team asks for “no board” report
On the heels of an energized all-presidents’ meeting last night, your Corrections bargaining team brought a clear and unified message…
OPS Table Talk 2015 Issue 39 – Union meets employer December 18
Employer representatives have agreed to a request from your Corrections bargaining team to return to the bargaining table. The next…
OPS Table Talk 2015 Issue 38 – It’s decision time
It’s decision time for correctional workers in Ontario. On December 8 and 9, all members of the OPSEU Correctional Bargaining…
OPS Table Talk 2015 Issue 37 -- Questions and Answers about the Tentative Agreement in the Correctional Bargaining Unit
In the days since your Corrections bargaining team signed a tentative collective agreement with our employer on November 23, the…
OPS Table Talk 2015 Issue 36 – Members given options for ratification vote
The ratification vote on the recent tentative agreement will take place on Tuesday, December 8 and Wednesday, December 9 in…
Read the MoS
To download the final Memorandum of Settlement signed January 9, including items agreed to earlier, 
Click Here
President's Message
This crisis is bigger than Corrections
Dear friends: If you’ve seen the news lately, you know there’s a crisis in Corrections. In December, we saw fires,…
What OPSEU leaders are saying about the Corrections deal
1/3 videos
1
Warren (Smokey) Thomas, President, OPSEU
2
Tom O’Neill, OPSEU Local 467, Chair, Corrections Bargaining Team
3
Monte Vieselmeyer, OPSEU Local 517, Chair, MCSCS Employee Relations Committee