FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 11, 2005
Budget does nothing to bring labour peace: OPSEU
The Ontario Liberal government’s budget does not bode well for the more than 45,000 OPSEU members in the Ontario Public Service who have been working without a contract since Dec. 31, 2004.
Finance Minister Greg Sorbara has chopped or frozen the budgets for most ministries again this year, which will result in further cuts to services and jobs, in addition to the 6,000 public service job cuts already announced.
OPSEU President Leah Casselman warned the McGuinty government: “If you are going to starve our members at the bargaining table, while taking our members’ pension money for infrastructure without consulting us, you are headed for a major confrontation.”
OPSEU members will vote on the government’s “final” contract offer later this month. If it’s rejected, Ontario could be in for a possible third public service strike in 10 years.
“Dalton McGuinty should have had the courage to repeal the Harris-Eves tax cuts that created a $15-billion gap in government revenues and now make it nearly impossible to rebuild public services in this province,” Casselman said.
“The people who run our court system, our jails, keep roads safe, help people with disabilities, inspect the water plants, register births and deaths, collect taxes, operate provincial health laboratories, answer 911 calls, and defend our human rights -- people who put their lives on the line every day -- will see no
reason in this budget not to vote for a strike,” she said.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union represents 110,000 members who work for the Ontario government, community colleges, hospitals, social services and other transfer payment agencies.
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For further information
OPSEU Communications: David Cox, 416-788-9197 (cell)
