May 6, 2005
Conciliation continues Employer’s response
still: NO!
This week has proven to an exercise
in patience and tolerance for the Central Bargaining Team. While the
team has diligently presented your bargaining issues, the employer
has not changed their position on any issue. The conciliation
process has not changed the employer’s view. They still continue to
refuse to move on your issues. On each and every issue presented
this week, the employer’s response has been “no” or no response at
all.
The employer still maintains their
original position that any improvements for the members come with a
price: a “cost neutral” price. This means that to make any gains,
members have to take a cut in what we currently have. This is not
right. We deserve the improvements we asked for. There should be no
conditions attached.
This is your next collective
agreement. These are your issues brought forth during demand
setting. These issues are important and they deserve more than just
“no”. The employer doesn’t feel the same, and that is a shame. Your
bargaining team will continue to do whatever it takes during the
conciliation process to make this employer recognize the importance
of these issues and get a contract that we can all be proud of. It
is time the employer expanded their vocabulary to include more than
the word NO.
Continue to read The Source for all
the up-to-date information as conciliation continues.
“Total compensation” isn’t total at all
On May 11, the government will
release a new budget. The line from the province is easy to predict.
We hear it from them in every round: Our cupboard is bare. They say
their priority is to balance the budget and say the payroll of
provincial government employees costs too much.
That is a load of bull!
The economy is very healthy. Due to
economic growth, the Ontario government has never been richer. In
fact, it has underestimated its revenue by nearly $1 billion. At the
same time the government has overstated it expenditures.
OPSEU members are not to blame for
the deficit. Payroll for OPSEU is only about 3 per cent of the
government’s total revenue. Total payroll costs have fallen with all
the lay-offs. The government plans on cutting the OPSEU bargaining
unit by another 10 per cent over the next two years.
OPSEU members have already lost 7 per
cent due to inflation. So far, the employer has offered a “total
compensation package” of 2 per cent. The total compensation package
includes, pension, benefits, wages, kilometric rates, special cases
and everything else. Even if the “package” was all put into a wage
increase, we would still lose a further 4.3 per cent with inflation.
Also consider that this leaves no money for the other items like
benefit improvements or Factor 80…nothing at all.
Why should we be expected to pay down
the deficit more than anyone else? The government’s own figures show
that personal income growth is at 3.9 per cent for 2004. Why should
OPS members be expected to pay more? We have paid enough already!
Unclassified issues during conciliation
Nothing has changed
Your bargaining team has demanded
improvements for unclassified employees as one of the top priorities
in this round of bargaining. The improvements include easier
conversion language and the implementation of the Appendix 25
Attorney General Pilot Project. This project will create flexible
part-time classified employees with benefits and some certainty as
to their hours of work and income.
Almost 30 per cent of Ontario Public
Service members are unclassified. The employer refused to discuss
unclassified issues during our pre-conciliation phase of bargaining.
When we applied for conciliation on Apr. 20, it was done to make the
employer recognize their lack of response to our issues was
unacceptable. This week, during conciliation, we presented our
thorough unclassified issue proposal. The employer had the audacity
to fail to respond to any of these issues.
The refusal to respond on the
Appendix 25 joint project was exasperating, as this project has been
developed jointly. Now the employer has nothing to say about its
possible inclusion in our next collective agreement.
It is obvious that this employer has
NO respect for our unclassified members. All unclassified members
need to take action if gains are to be made in this round of
bargaining. Tell the employer loud and clear that you want your
issues acknowledged and addressed immediately at the bargaining
table.
Working together is the only way we
can achieve fairness and equality for unclassified members.
OPSEU local at private jail rejects 7.75
per cent increase
Members of Local 369, Correctional
Officers at Central North Correctional Centre (CNCC) in
Penetanguishene, have soundly rejected the employer’s wage offer for
their new collective agreement. This offer would have given them
increases of 2.4 per cent in 2005, 2.6 per cent in 2006 and 2.75 per
cent in 2007. The offer was rejected by 99 per cent of the members.
Correctional Officers top wage rate at Central North is currently
the same as that of the Ontario Public Service Correctional
Officers.
The wage offer at the Corrections
Bargaining Unit Table is zero per cent for 2005, zero per cent for
2006 and zero per cent for 2007.
The three-year, 7.75 per cent offer
which was rejected by members of Local 369 would have put them at
$27.50 per hour as of January 1, 2007, while public Correctional
Officers would continue to earn $25.47 per hour – a difference of
more than $4,200 per year.
Managers using intimidation tactics
We are hearing through the grapevine
that some front-line managers are sticking their noses where they
don’t belong.
The chat around the lunchroom about
the employer’s proposal being a disgrace to public servants has some
middle managers telling OAGs the following: “If you are planning on
moving up in the OAG series, you should be careful on what you say
or do.”
This blatant intimidation tactic must
be immediately grieved and reported to someone superior to that
manager. If you have a case similar to this one, please send us an
e-mail with the details so we can spotlight your workplace in our
“Mindless Manager” showcase series.
The Sunshine Club – 17th edition
The Sunshine Club is the list of
public service managers who earn over $100,000 per year. Here are
the names for our 17th edition.
|
|
|
|
(Strike
Year) |
(Non-Strike
Year) |
|
Name |
Ministry
|
Current Position
|
2002 Salary
|
2003 Salary |
|
Peter Steckenreiter |
Ministry of Community
and Social Services |
Regional Director,
Southwest |
$129,329 |
$111,379 |
|
Kathryn Moore |
Ministry of
Transportation |
Regional Director,
Eastern Region, Kingston |
$139,611 |
$114,782 |
|
Robert Campbell |
Ministry of Environment |
Manager, Technical
Support, Thunder Bay |
$126,725 |
Under 100k |
|
Timothy Garratt |
Ministry of Health and
Long-Term Care |
Nurse Manager,
Penetanguishene Psychiatric Hospital, Oak Ridge Division |
$130,074 |
Under 100k |
In Corrections:
|
|
|
(Strike Year) |
(Non-Strike Year) |
|
Name |
Current Position
|
2002 Salary
|
2003 Salary |
|
Barry Thomas |
Senior Transition
Specialist
|
$165,489 |
Under 100k |
|
Stephen Ormsby |
Deputy Superintendent,
Windsor Jail
|
$152,542 |
Under 100k |
|
Mark Dyrland |
Operational Manager,
Kenora Jail
|
$140,959 |
Under 100k |
|
Marcel Gagne |
Operational Manager,
Niagara Detention Centre
|
$138,943 |
Under 100k |
|
Donald Turner |
Operational Manager,
Maplehurst Correctional Centre |
$131,657 |
Under 100k |
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.
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