LONDON –
Staff at Community Living
London walked off the job last at midnight last night after not reaching a deal
through contract negotiations. Three more agencies will likely be on the picket
line by the end of the weekend.
“We really wanted to avoid a
strike but the government to has not come forward with the necessary funding,”
Denise Sands, president of OPSEU local 144. “The government’s been able to get
away with under-funding services for people with developmental disabilities
because most people just don’t realize it’s happening. We hope this strike will
raise public awareness of the government’s lack of commitment to the people we
support and hope everyone will join us in calling on the Premier to make
services for the people we support a priority
Employers agree the biggest
problem facing developmental services is low wages. Staff are leaving the
profession for equivalent positions in other fields because the pay is 25-30
percent more. Agencies can’t get enough qualified staff. Developmental
services are in crisis and it’s people with developmental disabilities that are
suffering the most.
“The last thing we want to be
doing is withholding services,” said Ms. Sands. “The problem is, this
government has proven we have to do something drastic to raise awareness of
their lack of commitment to the people we support. Right now all the McGuinty
government is doing is making promises for help three years from now when they
may not even be the government.”
More than 1000 staff at Community
Living London, Middlesex Community Living, Elgin Association for Community
Living and Community Living Chatham-Kent could all be on strike as of the end of
the weekend. Several more agencies around the province will be in a strike
countdown beginning next week. 16 other agencies across Ontario also have
strong strike votes.
“We want to get back to work.
Everyone agrees on the problem – it’s up to the government to fix it,” said Ms.
Sands.
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