July 7, 2003
Process to fill classified positions begins
Implementation of agreements regarding the filling of Correctional Officer positions at some institutions began July 4, 2003. The following is the step by step process for the agreements implementation:
Step 1 - Letters offering opportunities
Letters to unclassified Correctional Officers offering opportunities to be assigned to the classified service at certain institutions were to be made available by the employer on July 4, 2003. These offers were made to Unclassified Officers employed on Nov. 10, 2002 and who continued to be employed as OPS
Correctional Officers on May 22, 2003 at the following institutions: Brockville Jail, Burtch CC, Cecil Facer YC, Chatham Jail, Cornwall Jail, Elgin-Middlesex DC, Guelph Assessment and Treatment Unit (GATU), Hamilton-Wentworth DC, Lindsay Jail, Maplehurst Complex, Millbrook CC, Mimico CC, Niagara DC, North Bay Jail, Ontario Correctional
Institute, Ottawa-Carleton DC, Pembroke Jail, Rideau CTC, Sudbury Jail, Toronto East DC, Toronto Jail, Toronto West DC, Toronto Youth Assessment Centre, Walkerton Jail and the Whitby Jail.
Letters offering opportunities to be assigned to the classified service at Invictus YC were to be made available by the employer to unclassified Correctional Officers on July 4, 2003. These offers were made to Unclassified Officers employed at the following institutions on May 22, 2003 and who continued to
be employed as OPS Correctional Officers on June 16, 2003: Invictus Youth Centre and Vanier Centre for Women in Milton.
Important: Positions will be filled on the basis of seniority pursuant to Appendix 24. The classified Correctional Officer positions will be offered first to the most senior unclassified Correctional Officers until the positions are filled. Seniority will be calculated based on straight-time hours worked
from the beginning of the unclassified employee's date of hire up to and including Nov. 10, 2002.
Important: If you did not receive a letter and you feel you should have received one please call Linda Elliott at 1-800-826-2911 or (519) 661-1685 or e-mail her at Linda.Elliott@jus.gov.on.ca Your fax or e-mail should include details indicating why you should have received a letter, and which institution
you were employed at. This information should be copied to your local president (or highest ranking OPSEU official) at your current worksite. The MERC team will be contacting local reps and communicating with them throughout the process.
Step 2 - Returning letters of interest
Letters of interest must be returned by no later than 4:30 p.m. on July 10, 2003 to the local superintendent. Employees will be asked to sign that the letter has been returned.
Step 3 - Contact
Unclassified Correctional Officers will be contacted regarding their seniority. More information will be forthcoming about this in the next Lock Talk.
Step 4 - Disputes
A dispute process is currently being negotiated to deal with any issues arising from the agreement. More information on this will be forthcoming in the next Lock Talk.
Step 5 - Appointment to the classified service for those with enough seniority
Appointments to the classified service will be made based on seniority. Those who do not have enough seniority to be appointed will also be notified.
Please note that this information was to have been distributed on July 4, but was delayed due to technical malfunctions.
Throughout this process we will continue to update information in future editions of Lock Talk. The process regarding Steps 3 and 4 are still being discussed with the employer.
Time to update the contact list
The provincial corrections contact list is seriously out of date. We ask that all corrections local presidents (or highest ranking) please send in their contact information, along with one or two alternate contacts. Please send the information to Don Ford at dford@opseu.org.
Support Workers at Rotherglen
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union is calling on Brenda Elliott, Ontario Minister of Community, Family and Children's Services, to take direct control over operation of a young offender facility in Ajax to deal with "a dangerous, chaotic crisis in management and governance" there.
The 24-bed Rotherglen facility, dubbed "volatile and vulnerable" in a Ministry report, is operated by Kennedy House Youth Services, until recently the largest private operator of young offender facilities in Ontario.
"Out of a staff of 35 front-line workers at Rotherglen, approximately 10 quit every two months," said OPSEU president Leah Casselman. "New workers, usually aged 19 to 21, normally work for several months before receiving any training at all in the correct use of restraints and the distribution of medications.
Staff and offenders are routinely injured and always at risk of serious injury on a daily basis," she said. "Unless the Minister takes action, someone is going to get killed. It's only a matter of time."
Thirty-five members of OPSEU have been on strike at Rotherglen since June 12 after Kennedy House refused to negotiate in good faith.
Casselman said dysfunctional management was the root cause of the work stoppage. "The Ministry report shows an organization with no strategic plan, no system for keeping track of capital assets, irregular cheque writing, and little programming expertise," she said. "Kennedy House simply doesn't know how to run
this kind of organization."
For campaign information, call Don Ford (ext. 442) at 1-800-268-7376 or (416) 443-8888.
e-mail: dford@opseu.org
Ontario Public Service Employees Union
100 Lesmill Road, Toronto, Ontario M3B 3P8
www.opseu.org
Original authorized for distribution by Leah Casselman, president.
