“With the election behind us, we’ve entered a new political era in Ontario. That’s why it’s more important now than ever to stay strong at the bargaining table, and to fight for the gains you deserve. You’ve got the full support of the union behind you.”
OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas
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A message from the bargaining team
We have now completed 2 days of bargaining, which took place on May 28, and June 11. During bargaining, the union tabled proposals based on both the non-monetary, and monetary priorities that were identified at the final demand set meeting.
At this point, the employer has shown a complete unwillingness to hear our concerns or address the issues our members have identified – including the issue of parity with hospital professionals that was identified in the provincial survey.
As a next step, the bargaining team has decided that conciliation is required, and this will take place at our next scheduled meeting on Wednesday, August 8. As a neutral third party, the conciliator will try to assist in reaching a settlement. If a deal can’t be reached, the next step would be to proceed to interest arbitration. At that time, all outstanding issues will be submitted to an arbitrator to make a final and binding decision; this is called ‘issuing an award.’
“We remain hopeful that the employer will come to conciliation on August 8 ready and willing to bargain,” said Omid Nouri, chair of the bargaining team. “But we still need to be prepared, and we’re going to need your support.”
The team is planning to launch a campaign to support our bargaining efforts, but we need every local involved in order to make it work! You can help by identifying a main contact person from your local, and sending in their name and contact info to Alicia Cross, Communications liaison to the bargaining team, by email at aadcross@gmail.com.
As your bargaining team, we will meet to caucus on Tuesday, July 17 in preparation for our August 8 conciliation date. Please let us know by July 17 who your local’s contact person will be.
Thank you, and we’ll be reaching out again soon.
In Solidarity,
Your Public Health Ontario Bargaining Team:
Omid Nouri
Local 545 (Toronto) – Bargaining Team Chair
omidnouri301@yahoo.com
Shah Nawaz
Local 545 (Toronto)
shahnawaz.l@gmail.com
Selfa Pyentam
Local 113 (London)
selbarry@yahoo.com
Casey McGuire
Local 412 (Ottawa)
kc.mcguire1374@gmail.com
Vincent Fernandes
Local 545 (Toronto)
vinfern80@gmail.com