Crisis in Corrections
News
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…
First Responders: vital to keeping us safe
May 1 is First Responder’s Day, an opportunity to honour emergency personnel, including paramedics and ambulance communications, corrections, probations and parole, mental health…
Hamilton public health must make vaccination for Corrections workers a priority: OPSEU/SEFPO
Toronto – OPSEU/SEFPO President Warren (Smokey) Thomas is calling on Solicitor-General Sylvia Jones to order Hamilton public health officials to…
Jail union president hopeful after province plans to issue request for proposals for new jail by spring
Correctional officer and president of OPSEU/SEFPO Local 737, Bill Hayes, says the announcement by the province planning to issue a…
Give Brookside kids the best chance for success: OPSEU/SEFPO
Cobourg – The union representing workers at Brookside Youth Centre says front-line workers have sensible solutions on the facility’s future…
Ministry of Labour issues nine unsafe work orders to Milton prison combatting COVID-19 outbreak
Milton – The Ministry of Labour has issued nine orders for unsafe work conditions at Maplehurst Correctional Complex in Milton,…
OPSEU/SEFPO applauds government for installing fentanyl-detecting scanners at 10 jails
Toronto – Front-line Correctional Workers and inmates at 10 jails across the province will be safer now that the government…
Five guards at the Thunder Bay District Jail now have COVID-19
Thunder Bay — Five correctional officers at the Thunder Bay District Jail have been diagnosed with COVID-19, while others wait…
Time to put the politics of division aside – and invest in our common future
On December 17, a Quebec-based union called la Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) announced it was shutting down its campaign…
New staff coming to Sarnia Jail
The jail in Sarnia is about to get a boost in staffing. Two full-time correctional officers, a mental-health nurse, a…
OPSEU/SEFPO’s President celebrates another Corrections win: paid training for recruits
Toronto – OPSEU/SEFPO President Warren (Smokey) Thomas is commending the Ford government for taking the union’s advice and instituting paid…
OPSEU/SEFPO calls the Kenora Jail a ‘powder keg’
Kenora – OPSEU/SEFPO President Warren (Smokey) Thomas says some special attention is urgently needed to bolster staffing at the overcrowded…
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, 
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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