FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 23, 2004
Employer may force Hastings County workers out on strike
BELLEVILLE - The union representing over 200 Hastings County social services employees says their members may have no choice but to strike if the employer continues to ignore their bargaining demands.
Martin Sarra, negotiator for the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, said it is incomprehensible that the County of Hastings continues to refuse to treat social services employees the same as its other employees.
"We are talking about some very basic provisions," Sarra said. "These workers don't receive the same benefits as other Hastings employees. The employer refuses recognize seniority for job competitions, as they do with other employees. In fact, they won't even provide the contract in French, even though many jobs require
employees to be bilingual. We can't understand why the employer wants to promote such inequity."
On Tuesday, April 19 the County of Hastings requested a "no board" report from the Ministry of Labour, stating that talks had reached an impasse. This has resulted in a legal strike/lockout date of 12:01 a.m. on May 10, 2004.
Sue Dafoe, negotiating team chair and president of OPSEU Local 496, says that the bargaining team remains committed to getting a deal without resorting to a labour dispute.
"We have been willing all along to discuss these issues with the employer," Dafoe said. "No one wants a strike, but our members will not tolerate being treated as second-class citizens compared with other Hastings County employees.
The parties will meet on May 6 in a last-ditch attempt to reach a settlement.
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For more information, please contact:
Aimee Axler, Staff Representative (613) 328-7818
Sue Dafoe (613) 848-5025
