They say when you’re in love, nothing else matters.
It’s a phrase that the Liberals have proven over and over with their love of private companies and private contractors. It’s a love so strong, the fact that privatization costs more and delivers less just doesn’t matter. $8 billion too much on P3 projects. $200 million per year too much on private IT consultants for the OPS. $175 million per year too much on private hospital labs. The list goes on.
Your OPS team has demanded at the bargaining table that the employer, the Ontario Government, must adopt a proper process before privatizing any more public services. We have proposed an open and transparent process for the review of any proposals by the government to privatize public services.
This review would be conducted by an Independent Review Commission. The review would evaluate the efficiency, public value and cost savings, if any. With proper oversight and review, debacles such as the SAMS projects could be avoided.
Strangely enough, the employer is completely opposed to any process or review that is open and transparent.
Or maybe not so strange after all. It would be a lot harder for the government to hand over millions and billions of dollars to their cronies if someone was looking over their shoulder. In their minds, the sell-off of public services and public sector work needs to be done behind closed doors.
Stopping the Liberals’ privatization schemes is one of the main priorities for all OPS members. We do the job better, cheaper and fairer than the private sector. We must fight to preserve our work…which is providing quality public services to the people of Ontario.
Please continue to support your Bargaining Teams.
Authorized by:
Roxanne Barnes, Chair, Central/Unified Team
Tom O’Neill, Chair, Corrections Team
Warren (Smokey) Thomas, President