The bargaining team at Local 214, representing
OPSEU members at Pathstone Mental Health is heading into
conciliation today with one message: kids need stability.
In the recent provincial budget, the provincial
government announced its biggest investment in children and
youth mental health services for a system thatŐs been starved of
funding for 17 of the past 19 years.
OPSEU applauded the funding increase but asks:
did Ellis Katsoff, CEO of Pathstone Mental Health, get the same
memo from the Ministry that the rest of us received?
A recent name change in a time of economic
restraint from Niagara Child and Youth Services to Pathstone
Mental Health, an increase in expensive management restructuring
and a pending announcement with respect to layoffs of front line
staff suggests that the agency is continuing down the path of
wait lists and a patchwork of services.
"Children, youth and families deserve mental
health services when they need them" says Leisa Burberry,
bargaining team chair "and we're the professionals that want to
deliver them."
Members of Local 214 at Pathstone Mental Health
have been bargaining since March 31, 2010 when their contract
expired.
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