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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Feb. 25, 1999Come to the table, Chris -
Casselman
TORONTO -OPSEU President Leah Casselman Thursday challenged Management Board Chairman Chris Hodgson to come to the table himself and bargain a contract for her 48,000 members in the Ontario Public Service. "You have moved on your concessions; and you have moved in the right direction," she said. "Let’s sit down and finish the job. The so-called ‘final offer’ tabled today is not acceptable. "Let’s have some movement on our issues. Let’s make Factor 80 retirement permanent so people can retire early; let’s make real jobs benefits for unclassified staff; let’s have job security. "This government has downsized by 18,000 positions (with a mandate to cut 13,500). What is so unreasonable about agreeing that any further downsizing will be through attrition?" she asked. "Who gave the government the mandate to get rid of any more jobs in the first place? The public service of Ontario has made huge sacrifices on the altar of the provincial deficit crisis. These people have paid enough," Casselman said. The government offer tabled Thursday withdrew a demand for short-term layoffs of up to six months and another on dismissal of unclassified staff. "Why didn’t they make these moves earlier?" Casselman asked. "Why? I’ll tell you why. They have moved because of the threat of a strike vote. A strong strike mandate next week will force them to enter into real bargaining - where we talk about our issues and their issues and reach a negotiated settlement," Casselman said. "We haven’t seen that yet in this round of talks with the government." In rearranging its package of concessions, the government has hung onto a package of items that would institutionalize favoritism and cronyism in government worksites. They want "pay for performance" where individual managers can decide who (if anyone) gets extra pay. And they want super-seniority for "developmental positions" where selected favourite employees would have a shield thrown over them for 18 months. The government could then go through that area and downsize with impunity, and lift the shield after more senior employees have been pushed out the door. "It’s a manager’s dream," said Casselman. "It’s carte blanche for arbitrary measures. We cannot submit." More information is coming: Full details on the offer will be posted to the union's web page as soon as possible, but certainly before noon, Friday, Feb. 26: www.opseu.org. A full edition of Table Talk explaining the offer in detail will be available in print for distribution across the province Monday in English and French. In addition, a short video highlighting the offer will be available at the vote meetings March 3, 4, and 5. Return to Top
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