Strengthening Our Position: Preparing to Bargain
Your bargaining team has been hard at work preparing to head into bargaining with the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) to renew our central collective agreement. As we move forward with preparations, we want to provide you with an update on the progress we have made so far and details on what lies ahead.
Upcoming Bargaining Dates
Notice to bargain has been sent to the OHA, and we have confirmation that our first bargaining dates will take place from May 26th to May 30th with more dates to come in June and July. This means we are heading into bargaining within 2 months of our contract being expired.
We know that we are going into a challenging round of bargaining. There is a tough road ahead and your bargaining team is committed to fighting for the demands that you, as Hospital Professionals Division (HPD) members, have prioritized.
As hospital professionals, we remain severely undervalued for the crucial services we provide to the province. We know that retention, recruitment and workload compensation are some of the biggest issues facing hospitals, and your team is ready to take those to the OHA and make your voices heard.
What’s to Come
We find ourselves in a difficult moment across the province. Years of historic underfunding and creeping privatization in healthcare has led to a recruitment and retention crisis in our professions. We are seeing this government’s overreliance on private agencies to staff hospitals with funds being diverted from the public sector directly to private interests. This only contributes to the ongoing crisis in our hospitals, leading to the reduction of staff and services that our communities rely on.
Something must change.
We need to come together with a united voice as hospital professionals to demand what we know our professions need to thrive. Our strength at the table will come directly from the support and solidarity of HPD members across the province. Get in touch with your local to get involved and lets head into bargaining strong! We will continue to keep you updated as preparations continue.
In Solidarity,
Your HPD Bargaining Team:
Betty Palmieri – Chair L206 – St. Joseph’s Health Care Hamilton
Brenda Allan – Vice-Chair L215 – Niagara Health System
Adrian-Alexandru Balojin L206 – St. Joseph’s Health Care Hamilton
Katie Lambert L106 – London Health Sciences Centre
Tanya Niemi L227 – Headwaters Healthcare Centre Orangeville
Megan North L373 – Peterborough Regional Health Centre
Bev Weaver L4106 – Kingston Health Sciences Centre