FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 23, 2004
Correctional Officers vote 99% to reject contract offer
PENETANGUISHENE – Correctional officers at Canada’s first privatized adult correctional facility have voted overwhelmingly to reject the employer’s offer for a first contract. Union members have also voted over 90 per cent in favour of going on strike to back their contract demands. 97 per cent of the members turned out for the vote.
Sean Wilson, a correctional officer and bargaining team member for OPSEU Local 369, says that this should send a strong signal to Utah-based Management and Training Corporation.
“Our members have made it crystal clear that they will accept no less than parity with correctional officers working in public service facilities,” Wilson said. “We do the same work as public service correctional officers. We work with the same inmates. We face the same dangers, stresses and risks. There is no reason that the men and women working
at Central North Correctional Centre should be treated as second-class citizens, just so that an American firm can rake in profits.”
The Union bargaining team will return to the bargaining table as soon as Management and Training Corporation agrees to meeting dates.
“We hope that we will be able to negotiate a collective agreement without resorting to a strike,” Wilson said. “However, the members are adamant that we address their concerns about safety and the inequity with the Ontario Public Service.”
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For more information, please contact:
Don Ford, OPSEU Communications (416) 788-9104
