November 16,
2006
Day of
Action draws attention to plight of “Ministry of No
Resources”
Sign our online petition at
www.savethemnr.ca
OPSEU members from across the public service can help
members in the Ministry of Natural Resources today by
signing an online petition at
www.savethemnr.ca .
The OPSEU Ministry Enforcement and Renewal Committee (MERC)
for the MNR has called a “Day of Action” today to protest
ongoing budget cuts to their ministry.
The cuts have intensified in this fiscal year. Operating
budgets for Conservation Officers and provincial parks have
been particularly hard hit, but all areas of the Ministry
are feeling the pressure.
Campaign activities for this first Day of Action will see
OPSEU members wear black to work, fasten orange flag tape to
car and truck aerials, and sign petitions in their locals
for presentation in the Legislature. Rallies and barbecues
are also planned at some locations.
“Today is the start of a campaign that I would like to see
spread right across the OPS,” said OPSEU president Leah
Casselman. “The McGuinty government campaigned on a promise
to rebuild public services, yet the majority of ministries
in the OPS have seen their budgets ‘flat-lined in the last
two years.
“That wasn’t the deal,” she said. “As one of our provincial
park workers said this summer, ‘in medical terms,
“flat-lined” means you’re dead.’”
On Nov. 1, Ontario Finance Minister Greg Sorbara announced a
series of public consultations to prepare for the 2007-08
budget. One of the four questions Sorbara is looking for
answers to is, “Are there any programs or services the
provincial government provides that are no longer needed?”
“The Liberals’ entire approach as they get ready for the
next budget is an insult to every public sector employee in
Ontario,” said Casselman. “Does Greg Sorbara really believe
that, after 13 years of cuts to public services, there is
any public service anywhere in this province that has not
been stripped down to its bare bones?
“With a provincial election less than 11 months away,
Sorbara is not making himself many friends among 115,000
OPSEU members,” she said. “It’s enough to make you want to
vote for someone else.”
The MNR MERC plans to hand out “Save the MNR” stickers Nov.
25-26 when about 500 OPSEU members in the OPS come to
Toronto for their biennial divisional meetings.
For more information, visit the web at www.savethemnr.ca or
contact the MNR MERC members as follows:
CHAIR Elaine Bagnall, Local 362,
Peterborough (705) 755-2589;
ebagnall_opseu@yahoo.ca
VICE-CHAIR Peter Wall, Local 638, Hearst (705) 372-2212;
peterw@ntl.sympatico.ca
Dave Fluri, Local 635. North Bay (705) 475-5604;
dave.fluri@onlink.net
Ed Evens, Local 703, Sioux Lookout (807) 737-5056;
eevens@gosiouxlookout.com
Security checks likely on the way for more areas of the OPS
More OPSEU members in the Ontario Public Service may be
subject to security checks under an order issued by the
Grievance Settlement Board.
The government is already conducting security checks of OPS
employees who work with sensitive identity documents. This
includes about 2,600 OPSEU members working with drivers’
licenses, health cards, birth certificates, payroll and
benefits, and computer systems.
The latest GSB order lets the employer extend the checks to
any area of the OPS based on a “threat risk assessment.” The
employer has provided no details on which areas are likely
to need security checks, said Marg Simmons, the OPSEU Job
Security Officer who deals with the issue.
“A major concern we had last year was that the employer
would use the security checks to transfer workers out of
their jobs because of minor encounters with the law that
they might have had in the past,” said Simmons. “So far, out
of 700 members who have been checked, only one person has
not passed the security check.
Members also have the right to appeal the outcome of the
checks, Simmons added. Under an agreement negotiated by
OPSEU in December 2005, these checks are limited to a
criminal record check and/or a national security check by
the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).
Originally, the employer had also wanted to be able to check
members’ credit status and to find out whether they were
“known to police.” The union forced the employer to drop
those demands.
The 2005 agreement spells out the
steps involved in the security checks and the job
protections available to OPSEU members who are denied
security clearance. For a full summary of the deal, see the
Dec. 9, 2005 issue of FRONTlines at
http://www.opseu.org/ops/frontlines/FRONTlinesDec0905.pdf.
The employer must provide at least 20 days’ notice to the
union if a new business area or location will be subject to
the checks. For more information about any aspect of the
security checks, please call Marg Simmons at 1-800-268-7376
ext. 8643.
Original authorized for distribution by Leah Casselman,
president.
Download
November 16, 2006 Issue of
Frontlines
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