At a noon-hour rally today in front of Premier Kathleen Wynne’s constituency office, OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas announced that the negotiating teams representing 35,000 direct Ministry employees will call an immediate strike vote on the employer’s opening offer at the bargaining table.
Thomas said that the government’s proposals would fundamentally restructure public services in the province, and set the stage to privatize and outsource public sector work.
“The employer’s proposals are, in a nutshell, a plan to completely dismantle the entire Ontario Public Service,” Thomas said. “Thousands of public workers could lose their jobs, and those that are left will see their wages frozen, benefits reduced, entitlements eliminated and job protections weakened.”
Joined by bargaining team chairs Roxanne Barnes and Tom O’Neill, along with a crowd of Ontario Public Service (OPS) workers, Thomas pointed out the portable toilets that were set up to underscore the announcement.
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