|
|||||||||||||
 |
 |
||||||||||||
| Other Issues Feb
18/00 |
Ministry backs off vacations as actors continue to step down OPSEU confirmed today that the Ministry of Correctional Services has put changes to vacation scheduling on hold for at least a year. The ministry plan called for vacations to be spread evenly over 12 months, drastically reducing the number of vacation slots during prime time. "What we are seeing now is the direct impact of members stepping down from acting positions," said Barry Scanlon, chair of the OPSEU Employee Relations Committee for the Corrections Ministry Rideau C.T.C. is the latest institution to have their members step down. Cornwall Jail, Maplehurst Complex and Ottawa-Carleton D.C. will be on board with the next week or so. "What we need now is for every other institution to step down as soon as possible," Barry said. "That would probably tip the scales and back the employer down on this entire scheduling initiative." For the list of institutions and their status, see below. The axe falls in Toronto Correctional officers in Metro were caught by surprise this week when the Ministry sent out surplus notices to Toronto East D.C. and Toronto West D.C. Citing the recent retrofit of living units as the reason, the employer gave lay-off notices to 21 officers at the East and 8 officers at the West. "This is exactly what we predicted when the construction started," said Barry Scanlon. "As far as we’re concerned, this is just a test run for the planned operations at the super jails." Upon learning the news, OPSEU took immediate action and demanded disclosure from the employer on how they will change operating procedures after the reduction. The Union’s intent is to file health and safety complaints with respect to emergency and fire response. "There will be a direct impact on the availability of staff to respond to emergencies," said Scanlon. "This move has confirmed our suspicions that the employer plans to use nurses, social workers and other support staff to respond to life and death situations." Anything to talk about? OPSEU has responded to a proposal from the employer for a meeting on "transitional" issues connected to Ontario corrections. OPSEU will be going to the meeting, first of all, to find out what they want to put on the table. If talks ensue, the union will be demanding full respect for seniority and an end to the employer’s privatization plans. If the employer is not serious, that will be that. The meeting will likely take place in the next few weeks. Ministry "skates" on charity scandal Corrections minister Rob Sampson, who can usually skate around difficult issues with ease, will have a tough time ignoring a story that appeared on page 2 of the Friday, February 11 Toronto Sun. The article reported how the Ministry assigned two staff to escort an inmate by van from Monteith to North Bay to participate in the John D’Amico Skate-a-thon on January 15. The cost to the ministry for this endeavour was at least $1000. The inmate raised $200 for charity. Barry Scanlon, whose comments were reported in the article, was flabbergasted by the misuse of money. "How do justify this kind of waste when the ministry is throwing our people out of work?" ***IMPORTANT***
The following is an updated list of the status of the institutions involved in acting manager actions. Institutions where acting managers have stepped down Barrie Jail Institutions where acting managers have yet to step down Bluewater Youth Centre * * some managers have stepped down Actors stepping down soon Cornwall Jail Did not have acting managers Brantford Jail Status not known Brockville Jail For campaign information, contact Don Ford (ext. 716) or Carol Whitehead at 1-800-268-7376 ext. 356 or (416) 443-8888. e-mail: dford@opseu.org or cwhitehead@opseu.org Ontario Public Service Employees Union Original authorized for distribution by Leah Casselman, president. |
||||||||||||
 |
|
||||||||||||
Feb 11, 2000