August 15,
2006
Rates rise
for meals and mileage
OPSEU members who
travel as part of their jobs in the Ontario Public Service are
getting an increase in the rates they receive for meals and
vehicle expenses.
After months of
lobbying by OPSEU members at the ministry level and centrally,
the employer has agreed to increase rates as follows:
• Effective
Aug. 14, 2006, OPSEU members will get up to 40 cents a
kilometre in southern Ontario and up to 41 cents a kilometre
in the north when they use their own vehicle for business
purposes. The rate is reduced on a sliding scale as the number
of kilometres driven increases (see chart).
New kilometric rates Effective
Aug. 14, 2006
|
Kilometres driven |
Southern Ont. |
Northern Ont. |
|
0-4,000 km |
40
cents/km |
41
cents/km |
|
4,001-10,700 km |
35
cents/km |
36
cents/km |
|
10,701-24,000 km |
29
cents/km |
30
cents/km |
|
Over
24,000 km |
24
cents/km |
25
cents/km |
• Effective Sept. 1, 2006, meals will be reimbursed at
these rates:
• $8.75 for
breakfast;
• $11.25 for lunch; and
• $20.00 for dinner.
Members must
submit receipts to be reimbursed for meals. To view the full
text of the agreement between Management Board of Cabinet and
OPSEU, visit
http://www.opseu.org/ops/frontlines/mealkm.pdf
Parks campaign
channels public anger over cuts
Summer vacations
haven’t stopped provincial park users from telling Ontario
Premier Dalton McGuinty not to cut park staff.
The McGuinty
government has cut the equivalent of 226 summer jobs in the
parks, affecting everything from garbage collection to park
warden patrols to nature education. In response, over 1,300
people have signed OPSEU’s online petition, while hundreds
more have filled out postcards distributed by OPSEU members at
park gates. Visit
www.saveontarioparks.ca for more information and to sign
the petition.
In an unexpected
turn of events, the campaign has also struck a small blow for
healthy nutrition for children. In late July, OPSEU President
Leah Casselman went public with a news release calling on the
government to drop the 344 examples of the Pepsi logo from the
Ontario Parks kids’ website at
www.campsite24.ca.
A few days later, Pepsi pulled its distinctive
red-white-and-blue logo from the site and replaced it with the
logo for Aquafina, its brand of bottled water.
Consumption of
soft drinks has been linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes,
osteoporosis, and tooth decay.
Original
authorized for distribution by Leah Casselman, president.
Download August
15, 2006 Issue of
Frontlines
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