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June 8, 2001

Today’s menu: Elephant?

Maplehurst’s new multi-million dollar kitchen complex is big, shiny, and appears to be another brilliant Tory innovation in the field of Ontario corrections. It is also being called a financial boondoggle and a blatant waste of Ontario tax dollars.

“It’s a giant white elephant,” says Barry Scanlon, chair of the OPSEU Corrections Ministry Employee Relations Committee. “The sole purpose of this facility is to put money in the pockets of the private sector. It will cost $2 million to $4 million more to make meals than it does at our local kitchens.”

The cook-chill facility (where meals are prepared, frozen, then shipped to other jails and re-heated) was to be tendered for private bids last year. The Ministry of Correctional Services subsequently backed off when it appeared that there were no experienced private operators and that operators were reluctant to use inmate labour.

The government was blasted by the provincial auditor for construction cost overruns that doubled the price of the kitchen from $5 million dollars to $10 million. The auditor also noted that the kitchen would not have sufficient capacity to produce the number of meals that was originally claimed.

In New York state, a similar but larger cook-chill facility prepares 148,000 meals daily for 70 per cent of the state’s inmates. The kitchen is now being expanded to serve all of New York’s 71 jails. The kitchen is inmate-staffed, and publicly run. There has been absolutely no consideration given to privatizing it.

“Why privatize it? It works and it saves money,” New York Corrections spokesperson Mike Houston is quoted as saying in the Hamilton Spectator.

Ironically, “because it works and saves money” is a good enough reason for the Tories to privatize anything these days. Perhaps the Ministry could give New York a call and point out the error of its ways.

Three jails given closure notice

Members at Local 230 (Waterloo D.C.) and Local 255 (Wellington D.C.) got the word on Wed., June 6 that the shut-down process of their facilities will begin and is estimated to be completed over the next 30 days. Members at Local 247 (Brantford Jail) were also given notice, but the decommissioning there will not occur until later this year.

OPSEU has not received ANY details from the Ministry on the mechanics of this process, and is scheduled to meet with the employer early next week. Further details will be reported as soon as they come in.

Ministry blinks on TB appeal

An appeal filed by the Ministry on a Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) award to a member who contracted tuberculosis was withdrawn this month after a vigorous fight by OPSEU.

The correctional officer, whose name has been withheld for privacy, filed the WSIB claim after testing positive for TB. The claim was originally denied by the WSIB, but was granted after an OPSEU appeal.

The Ministry then appealed THAT ruling, and the case was set to be heard by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT). OPSEU then filed a motion to the Tribunal claiming “apprehension of bias.” What does that mean? Simply put, it’s all due to Labour Minister Chris Stockwell.

It was Stockwell who came up with the odious idea to merge all of Ontario’s arbitration boards and tribunals into one “mega-tribunal”. As a result of this move, the number of arbitrators will be severely reduced. Those who are left will likely be hand chosen by the Harris government.

Because of the job uncertainty among the arbitrators, OPSEU had serious concerns that a board vice-chair or arbitration panel would be unlikely to rule against the government. This is the first time a motion claiming bias has ever been filed to the WSIAT.

The end result? The Ministry withdrew the appeal, and the member’s WSIB claim stands.

Why would the Ministry just withdraw the appeal? There is speculation that the government does not want any extra attention to be given to this whole “mega-tribunal” process. There is also a theory that the Ministry of Correctional Services doesn’t want to publicize the fact that there is a real problem with TB in our facilities.

Either way, we won. It is a landmark case.

OOPS, did I hit the wrong key?

It has just been announced that the Ministry’s new computerized Offender Tracking and Information System (OTIS), scheduled to come on-line on Mon., June 11, has now been delayed from becoming operational until at least July 2. The line being given by the Ministry is that the purpose of the costly delay is to “give staff the maximum opportunity to increase their familiarity with OTIS.”

David Kerr, probation and parole representative of the OPSEU Corrections Ministry Employee Relations Committee, is shaking his head at the waste of time and money.

“Our community staff have put in a huge amount of work and overtime this week to meet the original implementation deadline,” Kerr said. “This was a complete waste of tax dollars.”

It is the sign of a caring Ministry to blow this kind of dough to ensure that staff are properly trained. Mind you, you may have a tough time selling that to the staff at Maplehurst who had to take over a brand new jail with little or no training. Could it be that there was a different reason for the delay?

Killer on the way

An attempt this week to neutralize Bill 57 by NDP Corrections Critic Peter Kormos failed when House Speaker Gary Carr ruled the legislation in order. The bill, which amends more than 20 different pieces of legislation and contains devastating changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), has now been cleared for second reading.

YOU MUST GET INVOLVED

EVERY member working for correctional services should get involved in fighting Bill 57. This bill severely waters down worker protections contained in the OHSA. Most notably, the bill removes the requirement for Ministry of Labour inspectors to actually come to the worksite before ruling on a work refusal.

“This amendment is a killer hidden within a mass of innocuous legislation changes,” said Corrections MERC chair Barry Scanlon. “If inspectors are no longer required to come to the workplace, they will not see the dangers our members are facing. That could ultimately cost someone their life.”

Scanlon implores members to call, fax, e-mail or visit their area MPP to demand that the OHSA amendments in Bill 57 be withdrawn. “This bill will become law very quickly,” he said. “We have very little time to act.”

To find your local MPP, visit: http://www.electionsontario.on.ca/SearchbyCity.asp?sMenuID=46&flag=E&layout=G

For campaign information, call Don Ford (ext. 442) or Pam Doig (ext. 687) at 1-800-268-7376 or (416) 443-8888.
e-mail: dford@opseu.org or pdoig@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.

Ontario Public Service Employees Union, 100 Lesmill Rd. Toronto, ON M3B 3P8  (416) 443-8888  www.opseu.org