Today the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. We have and will continue to assess the situation daily and are following expert advice and guidance. Given the evolving circumstances, OPSEU offices will begin closing effective end of business Wednesday March 11, 2020. This will permit staff to gather all relevant work equipment and material in order to work from home. Full office closure will be effective Monday March 16, 2020 to Monday March 30, 2020. Further actions including ongoing office closures will be reassessed as the situation develops.
During the office shut-down period all OPSEU meetings, gatherings, educationals, arbitration hearings and the like will be postponed or adjourned. Where possible, essential meetings will be conducted via teleconference. Although the offices will be closed our staff are committed to continuing their support to the membership and will be available via email and phone. All mailboxes will be monitored regularly. Our objective is to limit all non-essential travel and exposure to reduce the spread of this virus. OPSEU stands behind our members working on the frontlines of healthcare and those who work tirelessly to help the public. OPSEU operates both as a trade union to its 165,000 members and as an Employer to approximately 400 employees. As always, the health and safety of our members and staff remains our paramount concern.
We thank you for your cooperation during this time.
President, Warren (Smokey) Thomas
First Vice-President/Treasurer, Eduardo (Eddy) Almeida