April 29, 2005
The power transaction: it’s up to us!
Power is defined in the Webster’s dictionary as the “ability to act or produce an effect.”
Last week in The Source, we said “bargaining is a power transaction.” Last Monday, Apr.25, we started meeting with a conciliator from the Ministry of Labour because there is very little progress being made at the bargaining table. The government has consistently maintained their position of “NO” to: benefit improvements;
extension of Factor 80; improved job security; improvements for unclassified workers and developing a new job classification system that fairly evaluates and pays properly for our work.
The employer needs to see and feel our power in work places all over this province. They need to know that the improvements we seek are not a “wish list” but real demands. We need to improve our working lives which in turn will begin to rebuild our tattered public service.
We show our power when we wear buttons, attend meetings and barbecues, write or phone our Liberal MPPs and take control of our work. Also, please continue or begin to wear the colours of black on Tuesday, blue on Thursday and red on Fridays. Our power is in the hands of our membership. Your actions are powerful and produce an
effect at the bargaining table.
Your demands at the table
What you asked for Employers response
Benefits
· Eliminate $100 dental deductible NO
· Eliminate $3 drug deductible NO
· Implement drug card NO
· Improve paramedical coverage NO
· Ontario Dental Assoc. schedule current for dental NO
· Eye exam coverage NO
· Improved vision care NO
Pensions
· Extend Factor 80 NO
· Extend Surplus Factor 80 NO
· Extend Bridging Factor 80 NO
Improvements for the Unclassified NO
Improve Job Security NO
Implement Family Time Off NO
Implement Classification Grievance Process NO
Address Special Cases NO
Improved Vacation NO
*Employer wants Job Security rollbacks including restrictions on displacement and reduction of exit payments.
Family Issues: It’s about balance – it’s about time!
Last year when we filled out the bargaining survey there was no specific item called “Family Issues.” This demand is broad but loosely defined. It is how we, as employees, balance our family or private life with our employer or working life.
Members have told the bargaining team that this is an important issue. There are several sub-issues in this overall category: balance between work and private life; vacation allotment; days off to deal with unexpected family emergencies (without having to use up vacation credits); time off to observe a religious holiday, and;
having some say in our workday hours.
It’s time that the vacation credit allotment is adjusted to reflect what other public service sectors have. It’s time the employer recognized that the Employment Standards Act allows up to 10 days off for family emergencies. It’s time to recognize there are more religious observance days than are currently recognized in the
collective agreement. It’s time to have the ability to access flexible working days. It’s time to eliminate the abusive Schedule 6.
The bargaining team has tabled demands with respect to family issues. In the Apr. 27 edition of the Globe & Mail, it was reported that one of seven major reasons employees leave their jobs is due to the inability to balance work life with home life.
Now is the time for balance so we can enjoy our family and continue to deliver the valuable public services that all of Ontario expects.
Study shows need for early retirement
Despite reasonable requests from your Central and Corrections Bargaining Teams, the employer refuses to agree to discuss “early” retirement at the Corrections bargaining table. Under the Crown Employees Collective Bargaining Act (CECBA), issues such as pensions can only be discussed at the Corrections Bargaining Table, upon
the agreement of both parties. The employer doesn’t recognize or perhaps doesn’t care that those of us who are Correctional Bargaining Unit employees work in an environment where violence and threats of violence are always present.
A study conducted by researchers from Laval University, provided to us by the union representing Quebec provincial Correctional Officers, looked at the effect of the correctional environment on the health and safety of peace officers (Correctional Officers) in Quebec. Although the study focused on Correctional Officers, the
environment of violence and its impact on workers would be similar, if not the same, on those in Community Corrections, Oakridge or Youth Justice. The study confirmed what most of us already know: The work we do has a extremely negative impact on our overall health and well-being.
The study found that Quebec Correctional Officers reported psychological stress 44-92 per cent higher than the general population. One of the most significant findings was that Correctional Officers were exposed to physical violence 11 times more that the general population and were exposed to intimidation at a rate three
times greater than normal.
The impact of the violence and intimidation became clear when actual absences from work were analysed. The study found that work absences due to mental health problems related to the psychological work environment were 90 days on average, compared with 42 days in the general Quebec population.
In its conclusion, the study says “The results of the research on the effects of working in a detention environment on the health, safety and absenteeism from work of peace officers in Quebec’s correctional services show the demands of this job. In fact, we see that a large proportion of peace officers show signs of high
levels of psychological distress and even of burnout. The tension at work generated by the psychological demands and low amount of decision-making authority, the lack of acknowledgement and the low level of support are organizational factors related to this phenomenon. Another result that warrants our attention is the high level of exposure to violence at
work...”
Working in these horrible environments takes a terrible toll over the years. We deserve the option of “early” retirement to escape these conditions and enjoy some period of retirement.
To obtain a copy of the Quebec report, please e-mail the Corrections Bargaining Team at corrections@bellnet.ca . Please specify if you would prefer the French or English version.
All OPS LERCs – Step down!
As we move into the most critical part of collective bargaining – where we force the employer to put the best possible deal on the table – it is important to give the employer the message that we are serious.
Your Central Bargaining Team asks that all Local ERCs inform the employer that this committee will cease effective May 2, 2005. Health and safety meetings and inspections must continue.
Further information will be communicated to locals and members with respect to the further withdrawal of goodwill shortly.
In solidarity,
Central Bargaining Team
Are you seeing red yet?
by Beth Anich, Office Administration Rep., Central Bargaining Team
Remember when we used to have “Secretaries Day?” Our jobs have changed and evolved over the years. Technology has changed our profession into one that is more complex, more diverse and with ever increasing workloads.
Over 60 per cent of the outstanding classification grievances at the Joint System Sub-Committee (JSSC) are from the Office Administration category. This is a clear indication that office administrative workers are improperly classified. More important, our job descriptions are so outdated they do not reflect the real work
that we actually do. The class standards are also antiquated, and need to be revised.
Office administrative workers are the largest group in the OPS workforce (37 per cent). It is time to take pride in the work that we do. It is time to tell the employer that we deserve to be properly classified. It is time to demand that our job descriptions properly reflect the REAL work that we do. It is only fair that we
are properly compensated for that work. We face many challenges and have almost no opportunities for career advancement.
It is time to turn up the heat. All members are encouraged to wear RED on Fridays to send a message to the employer. We deserve to be treated fairly.
Clerks make it work!
Donut Wednesday
It’s not “Wine & Cheese”…it’s Donut Wednesday! Local 424 in Ottawa has started to host mini-information sessions for its members. Each Wednesday, the local hosts coffee breaks for the members in each of its four worksites to share information and foster solidarity. It’s this kind of creativity that will make the “work to
contract” campaign a success.
Spotlight on your work
Social Worker 2
These 221 employees work in a variety of settings including children’s mental health programs, provincial psychiatric hospitals, jails, provincial schools and family courts.
The core of their work is to be “agents of change” for people experiencing various problems in their lives. The work can involve individual, group, marital or family therapy. Social workers complete court assessments, reports for the Parole Board of Ontario, admission assessments and adjustment therapy.
A Social Worker 2’s work is about improving the quality of life for their clients, patients and inmates. They support their colleagues and attempt to intervene with disturbed and troubled individuals.
Social Worker 2’s are proud to work in the OPS and are willing to offer their skills as “agents of change” in this round of bargaining.
Meat Inspectors
Meat Inspectors (also referred to as Meat Hygiene Officers) are the primary line of defense for the safe delivery of meat products to the public through provincially licensed abattoirs in Ontario.
The Meat Inspectors are “on site” at the abattoirs and, prior to slaughter, conduct a rigorous inspection of live animals including cattle, hogs, poultry, rabbits, goats, sheep and exotic species. They approve normal animals for slaughter, and identify abnormal animals and refer them for veterinary consultation. The
inspectors also enforce humane practices at the abattoirs.
Meat Inspectors monitor plant activities, conduct daily assessments of the plant to ensure that food handling and disposal of inedible/condemned material is safe.
During the work day, Meat Inspectors collect a variety of samples from animals, meat products, water and the plant environment to test for disease and contamination. They can also “put on hold” carcasses and meat products until receiving test results and then take appropriate action.
The Sunshine Club – 16th edition
The Sunshine Club is the list of public service managers who earn over $100,000 per year. Here are the names for our 16th edition.
|
|
|
(Strike Year) |
(Non-Strike Year) |
Name |
Ministry |
Current Position |
2002 Salary |
2003 Salary |
Sherry Howard |
Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care |
Program Manager |
$158,871 |
Under 100k |
Raymond Mantha |
Ministry of Transportation |
Chief Engineer,
St. Catherines |
$153,848 |
Under 100k |
John Mayes |
Ministry of Environment |
Manager, Technology Standards, Toronto |
$136,982 |
Under 100k |
Fred Longe |
Ministry of Finance |
Group Manager, Audit, RST, London |
$124,093 |
Under 100k |
Luigi Bartucci |
Ministry of Attorney General |
Manager, Court Operations, Toronto |
$107,990 |
Under 100k |
In Corrections:
|
|
(Strike Year) |
(Non-Strike Year) |
Name |
Current Position |
2002 Salary |
2003 Salary |
Michael “Mickey” Stephenson |
Regional Director, Adult Institutional
Services, Kingston |
$226,845 |
$112,785 |
Neil Neville |
Deputy Superintendent,
Niagara Detention Centre |
$145,048 |
Under 100k |
Tracy Jones |
Deputy Superintendent, Toronto Jail
|
$148,551 |
Under 100k |
Rudy Neufeld |
Deputy Superintendent, Windsor Jail
|
$145,762 |
Under 100k |
Peter Lesperance |
Manager, Strategic Corporate Issues
|
$140,959 |
$111,276 |
Your OPSEU OPS bargaining teams
Central/Unified team:
Marg Simmons (Chair), Central Enforcement and
Renewal Committee
Linda Thibert, OPSEU Region 1
Doug Peebles, Region 2
Kathleen Demareski, Region 3
Rhéal Delaquis, Region 4
Paul Myers, Region 5
Eric Morin (Vice-Chair), Region 6
John Watson, Region 7
Bob Houston, Administrative category
Brian Chauvin, Corrections
Carl Thibodeau, Institutional & Health Care
Sandra Noad, Office Administration
Beth Anich, Office Administration
Ken Fraser, Technical/Operational & Maintenance
Moira Cowan, Unclassified members
centralubu@bellnet.ca
unclassified@bellnet.ca
Corrections team:
Jack Hopkins, OPSEU Region 1
Barry Scanlon (Chair), Region 2
Glenna Caldwell, Region 3
Robert Curran (Vice-Chair), Region 4
Dave Graves, Region 5
Joe Wright, Region 6
Len Mason, Region 7
corrections@bellnet.ca
The Source is your only accurate source of Central and Corrections bargaining team information. Do not rely on gossip and rumours. We will provide the facts. Your editors are Len Mason, Beth Anich and Moira Cowan. The Source is authorized for distribution by Barry Scanlon, chair,
Corrections Team, Marg Simmons, chair, Central Bargaining Team and Leah Casselman, president.
Download this issue .pdf
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