OAKVILLE -- Staff at the Syl Apps Youth Centre voted to accept the latest offer from Kinark Child and Family Services Dec. 1, ending a seven-and-a-half month strike at the facility.
Syl Apps houses psychiatrically disturbed youth and violent young offenders, many of whom were discharged or moved to other facilities during the long labour dispute.
Members of OPSEU Local 213 went on strike April 15 after rejecting an employer offer that reduced their benefits. The new two-year contract includes a 3 per cent wage increase in the first year and a 2.5 per cent raise in the second.
OPSEU President Leah Casselman said the provincial government prolonged the strike by continuing to pay Kinark to handle young offenders, even though the facility was two-thirds empty and remaining residents were not getting the full range of services the private agency was contracted to provide.
The end of the strike means a staggered return to work for staff as the facility gears up for the return of residents to the centre. Thirty-four workers will be initially recalled to the centre Dec. 13, followed by another 33 who will return between Dec. 20 and Jan. 3.
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For more information:
Rick Janson: 416-443-8888 ext 207
