The latest bargaining and mobilizing news for OPS members
On March 3, your Corrections Bargaining Team tabled monetary proposals to the Employer. These monetary proposals were in addition to the three special wage adjustment cases (Rehabilitation Officer, Correctional Officer/Bailiff/YSO, and Probation and Probation/Parole Officer) that were tabled earlier.
Items in our monetary proposal included a general wage increase, improvements to shift premiums, overtime and compensating time off, call back, stand-by, on call duty, meal allowance, Custodial Responsibility Allowance and an increase to the Probation Officer Allowance. Additional monetary compensation articles (i.e. allowances) for the Correctional Bargaining Unit have also been proposed by the team.
However, the Employer’s response was that the parties were “very far apart” on monetary issues and decided not to respond to our proposals. Instead, the Employer now wants to move immediately into Essential and Emergency Service (EES) negotiations.
To be clear, the Employer still has not moved off of their initial concessions which include another two years with zero wage increases and potentially a further two years of zeroes unless the Union agrees to cuts in other areas of the Collective Agreement. The Employer has also proposed a twelve-step grid that includes a five per cent reduction in the starting wage.
Your team would prefer to stay at the bargaining table and negotiate a fair and reasonable collective agreement. Despite this, the team is now preparing to begin the process of negotiating the EES agreements for the Corrections category.
We appreciate the continued support we are receiving from the Corrections category. Your actions ARE making a difference.
Contact us:
Corrections Team
[email protected]
Don’t listen to rumours! TableTalk Update is your only official communication from the OPS Bargaining Teams.
Your OPS Corrections Bargaining Team
John McLaren, Region 1
Dan Sidsworth, Region 2
Gord Longhi, Region 3 (Vice-Chair)
Tom O’Neill, Region 4 (Chair)
Monte Vieselmeyer, Region 5
Scott McIntyre, Region 6
Barb Friday, Region 7
Anastasios Zafiriadis, Staff Negotiator
Original authorized for distribution:
Tom O’Neill, Chair
Corrections Team
Warren (Smokey) Thomas, President
Ontario Public Service Employees Union
Related: OPS Bargaining 2014 Index Page