As the 150 members of the Ontario Public
Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Local 448 pick up their picket signs,
Community Living Prince Edward (CLPE), one of the largest employers in
Prince Edward County, becomes number seven in the growing list of
developmental service agencies on strike in the province.
This brings the total to over 1,300 OPSEU
members striking around the province.
Talks at CLPE broke down late yesterday in
mediation. Key issues in dispute are wages, health and safety and
vacation.
The biggest problem facing developmental
services is low wages. In Prince Edward County workers at CLPE earn 25
to 30 per cent less than those performing the same work elsewhere in the
region. Patti Markland, chair of the Local 448 negotiating team, says
wages are not the only priority for the members at CLPE. “The health and
safety of our members and the people they support are equally
important,” Markland says.
“When members need time off it isn’t to take a
vacation – it’s often to protect their health so they can continue to
provide quality care. Yet, the employer will deny vacation rather than
schedule fully capable part-time staff. This defies comprehension.”
OPSEU members in Chatham-Kent, London,
Middlesex, Elgin, Tillsonburg and Meaford are also on strike.
Markland says early last evening the employer
removed company vehicles from residential facilities and removed staff
prematurely from residential facilities, leaving the people they support
in tears.
“And, yesterday afternoon while the negotiating
teams were working to reach a settlement, the employer had all the locks
changed on their 17 work locations. “I can only assume they wanted a
strike,” says Markland, “because yesterday afternoon even the
negotiating team didn’t know we weren’t going to reach agreement!”
Community Living Prince Edward provides
supports and services for about 500 people with intellectual
disabilities, and their families, in residential settings (24 hour
support), supported independent living, respite care, day supports,
family networking, support groups and other programs. Members at CLPE
have been without a contract since March 31, 2007.
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