February 27, 2001
The Honourable Norm Sterling
Minister of Correctional Services
25 Grosvenor Street, 18th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1Y6
Dear Minister Sterling:
I am writing in response to your
statements Feb. 22 and Feb. 26 with respect to the use of sick time by
Ontario correctional officers, members of my union.
Your comments did nothing to address the
dramatic rise in the use of sick time in Ontario jails since your
government was elected. Instead, they fanned the flames of anger and
frustration among professional employees who do one of the toughest jobs
on earth, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Mr. Minister, you have just over two
months’ experience in the field of correctional services. Our members
have thousands upon thousands of years of experience. It is not
unreasonable to suggest that you may have something to learn from them.
When asked by CBC Radio what you thought
were the causes of high sick time usage by your staff, you replied,
"I don’t know." This letter is written, in a spirit of
co-operation, to invite you to learn what you do not know.
Beginning this Thursday, March 1 in
Sudbury, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union will be launching a
province-wide task force to investigate health and safety conditions at
Ontario correctional facilities. Our method will be simple and
straightforward: we will ask Correctional Officers to tell their stories
of life behind bars, and to relate those stories to sick time usage. We
believe -- in fact, we know -- that the real-life experience of
corrections workers holds the key to creating safe workplaces.
When you don’t know corrections, it is
easy to downplay the impact on employees of the many stressors, from
violent assaults to persistent overcrowding to contagious disease, that
make up the environment inside a working jail. You need to hear the real
stories of real people before you can even begin to understand the
problems you say you are attempting to solve.
We want to start a dialogue with you on
the issue of jail health and safety in our jails. Please contact my office
to find out how you can take part in our task force meetings.
Sincerely,
Leah Casselman
President, Ontario Public Service Employees Union
