|
(Thunder Bay) September 24, 2011 – More than four
hundred Developmental Services workers in Thunder
Bay reached a last-minute settlement in negotiations
with Community Living Thunder Bay (CLTB) and Avenue
ll Community Program Services on Friday evening,
narrowly averting a 12:01 a.m. strike deadline on
Sunday, September 25.
“We have sent a strong message to employers at
Developmental Services agencies across the province
that a fair deal for workers is necessary and
possible,” said OPSEU President, Warren (Smokey)
Thomas. “I want to commend the dedication and
support that members in Thunder Bay gave their
bargaining teams. That solidarity was essential to
the negotiation of these two tentative contracts.”
Key issues in negotiations were wages and
improvements for part-time workers. OPSEU’s
bargaining team recommends that their members vote
in favour of the new tentative agreements.
“At CLTB we are dedicated to the clients we
serve,” said Kyle Pearson, Bargaining Chair, OPSEU
Local 740,”We are all deeply relieved that we are
able to continue to provide the quality services and
care that our community depends on.”
“I am happy that the workers at Avenue II are
able to continue to serve our clients without
disruption,” said Silvana Cacciatore-Roy, President
of OPSEU Local 738. “We have waited a very long time
for a contract.”
Central bargaining talks have broken off at the
Developmental Services Provincial Discussion Table (DSPDT).
This has resulted in the need to bargain each
agreement from scratch at the local level, and has
contributed to the fact that 46 additional
Developmental Services units across Ontario have
filed for conciliation.
Many workers have now been without a contract for
as many as 17 months, and five of these units have
taken strike votes.
Ontario’s Developmental Services are seriously
under-funded. Workers are struggling with heavy
workloads and difficult shifts, and the majority of
employees only have part-time work. Adequate sector
funding is vital to maintaining access to quality
programs for some of the most vulnerable members of
our community.
OPSEU Developmental Services workers held an
information picket at the Ottawa office of Madeleine
Meilleur, Minister of Community and Social Services,
on the morning of Friday September 23 to bring
attention to the sector’s funding crisis as the
Thunder Bay strike deadline approached.
There are more than 8,000 OPSEU members working
in developmental services.
Providing professional care to people with
developmental disabilities, their work includes
providing life skills and other training, support
with basic personal tasks and administering
medications. Support is provided in community
residences and in clients’ homes.
| 
Print this page