Central Employee Relations Committee (CERC)

March 5, 2020
11:43 am

March 5, 2020 - 11:43 am

Have a question?

Send the CERC team an email at [email protected]

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About Us

The purpose of the Central Employee Relations Committee (CERC) is to promote and facilitate consultation and communication between OPSEU and our OPS employer on issues of joint interest. We make sure that what was bargained in the collective agreement is actually happening in our workplaces. If a multi-Ministry workplace policy is unfair, we file a policy grievance.

We are your bargaining team between rounds of bargaining. When the union is not negotiating a collective agreement, the CERC is the forum for discussion and resolution of corporate labour relations matters that affect OPSEU members in more than one Ministry.

The CERC team and the chairs of each Ministry Enforcement and Renewal Committee (MERC) form a working group that meets regularly to address issues in each Ministry. These issues are addressed directly with the employer at the senior level. This senior level for the government is Management Board Secretariat.

Here’s how it works

Each Local in the Ontario Public Service should have an elected Local Enforcement and Renewal Committee (LERC) which meets with local management to resolve issues that have been brought to their attention. Minutes of LERC meetings are distributed and posted in each workplace.

Issues not resolved at the Local level may be referred to the MERC. The MERC team addresses issues that affect members in the whole Ministry. The minutes of these meetings are posted on the employer’s and union’s websites.

To have a Local issue addressed at the Ministry level, send a copy of the local minutes that outline the unresolved issue to your MERC Chair, with a completed referral form. Referral forms are attached to the minutes of each MERC meeting. For a complete listing of MERCs and how to contact them, please see http://opseu.org/content/ministry-employee-relations-committees-team-listing.

Issues not resolved at the Ministry level are referred to the Central Employee Relations Committee (CERC) for resolution. The CERC also deals with issues that affect the OPS as a whole. The CERC meets once a month. Minutes of meetings are also posted on the employer’s and union’s websites.

Your Central Employment Relations Committee

Chair

Amanda Usher

Vice-Chair

Chris Eckert Local 584

Member

Leslie Aiston

Contact the CERC: [email protected]

Meet YOUR Central Employment Relations Committee
Chair Amanda Usher

Hello, my name is Amanda Usher. I work as an Ambulance Communications Officer (ACO) and have been employed with the Ministry of Health for sixteen years. Half that time was spent as a fixed-term contract worker. I come from a strong union background, I’m a proud OPSEU/SEFPO member, and I’m honoured to have been elected CERC Chair.

As a Local President, previous LERC Co-Chair, MOHLTC MERC chair, Ambulance Division Dispatch Director, Region 3 Representative on the Unified Bargaining Team and passionate activist, I have had the opportunity to gain valuable insight into OPSEU/SEFPO, the OPS and the importance of public services to the lives of all Ontarians. In those roles, I have also had the privilege of meeting many fellow members and becoming familiar with many of their workplace struggles.

I have grown so much while serving in my roles within OPSEU/SEFPO and the labour movement. There has been no shortage of mentorship along the way, and for that support, I’m eternally grateful. In my role as CERC Chair, I aim to apply what I’ve learned, listen, continue to learn and pay forward to others the knowledge and assistance that was so generously provided to me.

The theme of our recent OPS Divisional Conference was MOBILIZATION. Mobilize workers for a better contract, mobilize workers for strong locals and mobilize workers to demand the respect we’ve earned!

A crucial step to building that mobilization will be strengthening our internal organizing efforts. We have to build up our lines of communication, establish systems to keep them strong, and ensure our activists are educated and empowered. We must ensure that our focus is central to fairness, equity, and inclusion.

We can make our workplaces throughout the OPS some of the happiest and safest in the province. From respect to improved job security to fairer compensation, there’s nothing beyond our grasp. But we have to stand shoulder to shoulder and act together. Let’s demonstrate exactly what it means to be Unified!

Vice-Chair Chris Eckert

Hello my name is Chris Eckert and I am the Vice Chair for the CERC. I came from the private sector construction and services to the OPS 15 years ago. I work for the Ontario Clean Water Agency and sit as the MERC Chair for the last 8 years along with being the local 584 President for 12 plus years, I was the Chair of the JHSC (Joint Health & Safety Committee) for 6 years.

In the round of bargaining in 2015, I was a mobilizer and part of the flying squad to get the government back to the table, along with supporting other members that were on strike at the time. I was also on the 2021 OPS Unified Bargaining Team.

I have also been part of the OPSEU/SEFPO Team in delivering training for MERCs and LERCs along with becoming a certified instructor for the Workers Health & Safety Center through OPSEU/SEFPO.

I continue to learn more about the ongoing issues our members have, and working together to make the workplace better for everyone in it.

Member Leslie Aiston

Leslie has been with the OPS for almost 30 years and is currently the MLITSD MERC Chair. Leslie is actually ‘2^nd Generation OPSEU/SEFPO’, as her mother was a former member and her (step) father was OPSEU/SEFPO Staff.

Leslie has held various positions within OPSEU/SEFPO, such as; Local President for approximately 6 years, Treasurer of OPSEU/SEFPO Ottawa Area Council for 8 years and was the Region 4 representative on the 2021 OPS Unified Bargaining Team and Reopener.

In Leslie has been married for over 25 years, has 2 grown children, loves camping in her tear-drop trailer (aka “glamping”) and can often be found crocheting.