November
3, 2000
Penetang RFP delayed
The release of the Request For Proposals (RFP) for the Penetanguishene
superjail has been delayed for at least a month. The RFP was due to be
released on October 31.
The Ministry of Correctional Services release states that the RFP is
being delayed "to ensure that a rigorous and thorough review of all
submissions is completed." Other sources indicate that no qualified
bidders are actually coming forward to participate.
Sharon Dion, chair of Citizens Against Private Prisons (CAPP) in
Penetanguishene, is wary of the announcement.
"I feel that this is merely a Ministry stall tactic to relax the
standards to assist the private companies," Dion said. "The
Ministry didn’t even bother to inform the Town Council about this
development. Our councillors had to find out from other sources."
A rumour is circulating that Corrections Minister Rob Sampson may be
actually coming to the realization that privatization is a bad thing, and
may be having second thoughts about his scheme. However, no one at the
Minister’s office will confirm that Sampson is waking up to reality.
Vote of non-confidence to go ahead
Last week’s suggestion of a Ministerial vote of non-confidence has
been met with enthusiasm. In response to your encouragement, we will be
conducting this vote in the next few weeks.
Local presidents/highest ranking in the Ministry of Correctional
Services will receive an instruction package and ballots shortly. Members
will then be able to vote on whether they still have confidence in Rob
Sampson as a minister.
Although this vote has no legal impact, a similar vote taken by Guelph
police late last year was a factor in the resignation of police chief Lena
Bradburn on October 10.
The key to success in this initiative will be the participation of
EVERY member in the Ministry. At the very least, it will give the media a
different perspective the next time that Sampson tells them that his
policies reflect the comments and wishes of his staff.
Management voting will be optional.
Big words, no substance
You will be forgiven if you take this week’s latest announcement with
a grain of salt.
Corrections Minister Rob Sampson took to the podium to announce the
latest wonderful changes he’s planning to implement. This time, it’s
the hiring of 165 new Probation and Parole officers.
The deja-vu you’re experiencing is real. This is the exact same
announcement that Sampson made on May 2, 2000.
"It is sad that this Minister has accomplished so little that he
has to keep re-announcing the same thing," said OPSEU president Leah
Casselman. "Each time he steps in front of a microphone he loses even
more of his almost non-existent credibility."
A bizarre twist to this story was Sampson’s statement that he was
adopting a "zero-tolerance" policy with respect to violence
against Probation and Parole officers. Sampson was addressing the Aug. 15
incident at the Yonge St. P&P office where police had to take down an
armed offender. So what makes this bizarre? That same offender was
sentenced to a "non-reporting" probation order for the incident.
That means he is on probation, but doesn’t have to report to anyone.
David Kerr, Probation and Parole representative of the OPSEU
Corrections Ministry Employee Relations Committee, is furious.
"We still have two staff members on medical leave because of this
incident," Kerr said. "If this is what Sampson means by
zero-tolerance then the 165 new probation and parole officers are just
additional targets."
It is not uncommon for Sampson to make announcements on issues he knows
nothing about. However, this time it is life and death situations he’s
dealing with. So besides looking foolish, he is angering a lot of people
as well.
Being foolish and angering staff. That’s leadership material.
Corrections even closer to autonomous
bargaining
Delegates to the Oct. 28 OPS All-Presidents Meeting have voted to give
the Corrections Bargaining Unit greater control over which issues it will
bargain.
The motion, put forward by Barry Scanlon, chair of the OPSEU
Corrections Ministry Employee Relations Committee, read, "That the
corrections category delegates direct their team members on which issues
should be moved from the Central Table to the Corrections Category Table
and that this direction be the position of the Central Team with the
employer." The motion passed by an overwhelming majority.
An earlier motion, also put forward by Scanlon, asked for complete
autonomy for the Corrections unit. That motion was defeated by a vote of
93-83.
Scanlon was pleased with the outcome of the meeting. "I feel this
gives our bargaining unit the flexibility it needs to bargain issues
specific to our members," Scanlon said. "We will now be able to
specifically address items that were formerly out of our hands. That will
strengthen our position, and the entire union as a whole."
Composting and spanking?
Applicants "humiliated" by private jail interview
Would-be staff applying for positions at the newly privatized York
Detention Centre were "humiliated and insulted" by questions
posed by the hiring board of new employer, Casatta Limited.
Applicants for the positions were asked if they spanked their children,
their opinions on unions and if they used a composter. Interviewers also
asked for the applicants’ age, marital status, and their views on
abortion.
Don Adams, Casatta’s program director at the facility, refused
specific comment because of the possibility of a human rights complaint.
But he did say that he’d done nothing wrong, stating that they were
trying to be creative.
The Ontario Human Rights Code prohibits employers from asking about
age, marital status and family status.
Bob Eaton, chair of the OPSEU Community and Social Services Ministry
Employee Relations Committee, was appalled at the process.
"This is the kind of unprofessional behaviour that can happen when
the private sector is put in charge of correctional institutions,"
Eaton said.
Resolution watch
The resolution count hits 136 this week thanks to an unprecedented 11
resolutions pulled in by the Resolution Warrior, Len Mason, from Local 737
(Thunder Bay Jail). Here’s Len’s amazing list: the Township of Bicroft
(east of Haliburton), the Township of Hornpayne (southwest of Hearst), and
the Township of Mapleton (northeast of Kitchener), the Township of
Dubreuilville (north of Wawa), the Township of D’Opasatika (west of
Kapuskasing), the Township of Mayo (near Bancroft), the Municipality of
South Bruce (southeast of Walkerton), the Municipality of Centre Hastings
(north of Belleville), the Town of Bruce Mines (east of Sault Ste. Marie),
the City of Vanier (near Ottawa) and the County of Victoria. Amazing, Len.
For campaign information, call Don Ford (ext. 442) or Carol Whitehead
(ext. 356) at
1-800-268-7376 or (416) 443-8888. e-mail: dford@opseu.org
or cwhitehead@opseu.org
Ontario Public Service Employees Union
100 Lesmill Road, Toronto, Ontario M3B 3P8
www.opseu.org
opseu@opseu.org
Original authorized for distribution by Leah Casselman, president.
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