Health Care/Support

February 2, 2012 A new video looks behind the scenes at the contributions highly skilled support staff make to the daily running of a hospital. more...

November 30, 2011 Effective 2012, it is law for all members of a Regulated Health Profession to carry Professional Liability Insurance. OPSEU has, in consultation with CG&B Insurance Group, arranged for our affected members an opportunity to get insurance at a discounted rate. more..

August 19, 2011 The outcome of this election may determine your future workload, your family’s access to health care, the hours you work, who you work for, or whether you will have a job at all. The Hospital Support Sector election primer looks at the party promises, the issues, offers helpful suggestions on what you can do, and gives sample questions for all-candidate meetings.

Printed copies of the 11” x 17” Election Primer are being sent to each local. You can also download it here. more...

October 28, 2010 OPSEU president Smokey Thomas will be a featured speaker at a special community forum in Walkerton on Nov. 2 organized to examine the mounting problems at South Grey Bruce Health Care . more...

September 27, 2010 The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) is challenging the senior management at South Bruce Grey Health Centre to eat the rethermalized food it wants to foist on patients. more...

Labour and community join in leafleting campaign aimed at South Bruce Grey Health Centre

On Saturday morning shoppers in Kincardine, Durham, Hanover and Walkerton will be given leaflets warning them of conditions at the South Bruce Grey Health Centre. The four-site hospital has been cutting services, destroying staff morale, silencing critics and taking away the democratic rights of the community to elect hospital board members.

The leafleting action follows press conferences last week criticizing the hospital for its poor labour relations environment. Conditions at the hospital have gotten so bad staff are complaining of severe stress symptoms, including spontaneous crying on the job.

The day is being organized by OPSEU, Friends of the Kincardine Hospital, The Grey Bruce Labour Council and the Ontario Health Coalition.

Those wishing to participate should contact Mary Ellen Pollard at (519) 395-3121.

To read more and watch a video of last week’s press conferences, click here.

April 1, 2010 St. Francis Memorial Hospital in Barry's Bay is cutting front-line care positions and closing beds in order to eliminate an operating deficit. The hospital is eliminating seven full-time registered practical nursing positions, reducing the hours of housekeeping, maintenance, food services and recreational programming. more...

Big OPSEU victory in Grey Bruce Health Unit strike

July 15, 2008 After ten weeks on the line, the office and clerical staff of the Grey Bruce Health Unit heads back to work in triumph. more...

Workers ratify tentative agreement

July 14, 2008 Office and clerical workers ratified a tentative agreement with the Grey Bruce Health Unit Friday. more...

Health unit strike may be over

July 11, 2008 Owen Sound Times. After 10 weeks on the picket line, program assistants vote today on tentative agreement. more...

Strike continues as staff reject latest offer

July 2, 2008 Office and Clerical Workers of the Grey Bruce Health Unit have voted 77 per cent to reject the employer’s latest offer. more...

Local makes second request for support: Strike enters ninth week

June 26, 2008 The members of Local 276 (office and clerical staff – Grey Bruce Health Unit) are entering their ninth week on strike. Our members are feeling the pinch although their spirits remain high and their commitment remains strong. Your generous donations will be greatly appreciated. If you have already made a donation, please allow us this opportunity to express our gratitude. Your generosity has been highlighted on placards that are mounted in our strike headquarters. For those who wish to make a donation please make your cheque payable to

Local 276 Strike Account and mail it to OPSEU Local 276, 80 – 9th Street East, Owen Sound, ON N4K 1N4

and make sure to include a return address so we can thank you for your generosity and tell you how things turn out. View full letter…

New ads hit airwaves, print media in Grey-Bruce

June 11, 2008 New ads in Grey and Bruce Counties highlight spending by the Board of Health on buildings and top administration, as the strike by clerical workers continues.

The ads point out that the Board of Health has authorized more than $20-million on a sparkling new waterfront building, and top administrators have received substantial raises, all while denying an adequate wage increase to striking office and clerical staff at the health unit.

The black-and-white newspaper ads will run in 13 community papers across Grey and Bruce Counties today.

Provided in the ads are phone numbers for members of the Board of Health, who have watched this situation deteriorate.

Meanwhile, New Democrat MPP France Gélinas weighed in with a public statement about the importance of well-functioning health units in Ontario.

Watch/listen for OPSEU’s ads in the following media, this week:
Kincardine Independent
Kincardine News
Port Elgin Shoreline Beacon
Walkerton Herald-Times
South Grey-Bruce, The Post
Mildmay Town & Country Crier
Lucknow Sentinel
Markdale Standard
Flesherton Advance
Meaford Express
Blue Mountains Courier-Herald
Dundalk Herald
Wiarton Echo
Owen Sound Sun Times

Radio
Owen Sound
CFOS 29
CIXK-FM
CKYC-FM
Port Elgin
CFPS-FM
Wingham
CIBU-FM
CKNX-FM
CKNX
Kincardine
CIYN-FM

Thomas asks for investigation of Health Unit

June 6, 2008 Rampant spending on a shiny new waterfront building, double-digit annual wage increases for top officers, but no money to pay a fair wage to striking program assistants. OPSEU asks the Minister of Health to investigate. more...

Brief outlines wage disparity with other health units

June 5, 2008 The 27 striking OPSEU workers at the Grey Bruce Health Unit have prepared a 100-page brief that outlines wages and benefits of similar employees at other Ontario health units. Members prepared the brief did the work to show the Grey Bruce Board of Health accurate information.

The health unit bargaining team was using inaccurate data based on a web site with outdated information.

The striking workers, members of OPSEU Local 276, are paid 10 to 35 per cent less than similar employees at other Ontario health units. For instance, similar workers in Toronto earn more than $53,000, while in Grey Bruce they earn about $36,000.

One month on the line for fairness

May 29, 2008 Members of OPSEU Local 276, office and
clerical staff at the
Grey Bruce Health Unit,
on strike for almost a
month, request your support. more...

Strike continues in Owen Sound

May 21, 2008 CFOS: OPSEU says its negotiators are set to return to the bargaining table to represent the 27 clerical and office staff who hit the picket line May 1st. more...

Grey Bruce Health Unit: Local 276 turns the heat up another notch on the employer

OWEN SOUND - May 16, 2008 Office and clerical staff working at the Grey Bruce Health Unit have now been on strike for two weeks. A full-scale advertising campaign including billboards, print ads, and radio ads, will ramp up today as the local invites the public to examine the facts. The radio ads will be running in Owen Sound and Wingham, starting today

President Thomas calls for investigation of health unit’s finances

May 13, 2008 OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas visited the picket line at the Grey Bruce Health Unit today, and expressed his concerns about the financial management of the Health Unit. more...
View slide show of Smokey's tour

Your support makes a difference

May 13, 2008 Owen Sound - As the strike enters its 13th day, your support is having its effect. More…

Strike continues in Owen Sound: Thomas to visit line May 13

May 12, 2008 President Warren (Smokey) Thomas will visit Owen Sound tomorrow to officially open strike headquarters for the Grey Bruce Health Unit office and clerical workers, members of Local 276. more...

Strike continues: Rally sends a message

May 9, 2008 The strike at the Grey Bruce Health Unit continues as office and clerical workers seek a fair deal. On May 8, OPSEU stalwarts Paul Johnstone and Jill McIllwraith spoke at a rally, and Ontario Nurses' Association members, themselves entering conciliation with GBHU, visited the line. .
View Slide Show

Strike continues: Patty Rout visits pickets in Owen Sound

May 8, 2008 The strike at the Grey Bruce Health Unit enters its first week today. On May 7, OPSEU First Vice-President/Treasurer Patty Rout visited the line.
View Slide Show

Grey Bruce Health Unit strike continues

May 5, 2008 The strike is into its fifth day at the Grey Bruce Health Unit. The unit’s 27 office and clerical members earn 15 per cent less than their counterparts in nearby units. Picket lines are up in Owens Sound.

View Slide Show

OPSEU Grey Bruce Health Unit on strike

May 1, 2008 Office and clerical employees of the Grey Bruce Health Unit are on the picket lines this morning after last-minute negotiations failed. more..

OPSEU: Strike set for Thursday May 1 at Grey Bruce Health Unit

April 28, 2008 Office and clerical staff extend deadline for final meeting with employer more...

Health Unit office and clerical unit to picket in Owen Sound April 18

April 17, 2008 The 26 office and clerical workers in OPSEU Local 276 at the Grey Bruce Health Unit will hold an information picket during the Board of Health meeting April 18. more...

Talks back on for Grey-Bruce Health Unit office and clerical staff

April 4, 2008 The negotiating team for OPSEU Local 276, representing the office and clerical employees at Grey Bruce Health Unit, will be back at the bargaining table April 9. more...

Office and clerical workers vote to strike if necessary

February 22, 2008 Office and clerical workers at the Grey Bruce Health Unit held a strike vote in Owen Sound Feb. 21 where they rejected overwhelmingly the employer’s offer, giving the bargaining team a strike mandate. more...

Chatham-Kent Health Alliance - Office and Clerical

Apr 13, 2007 OPSEU stops union raid in Chatham more...

December 21, 2006 Health Care Support News, December 2006 Update on government health care plan, Alliston cuts averted, Editor’s Weekend, and more

December 6, 2006: Maintain birthing units at Stevenson Memorial Hospital until LHIN can make integration decision -- Leah Casselman in a letter to Health Minister George Smitherman.

August 30, 2006 Hospital fiscal advisory committee workshops begin October 18 .pdf

August 24, 2006 Health Care Support News August 2006 Update on LHINs, P3s, Municipal vote, New CBS unit, and more

Hospital Support