OPSEU Talks Resume

Ontario’s Public Servants and the Provincial Government are expected to resume contract talks today as the deadline for a possible strike approaches.
Last week, members of the Union including more than four thousand in the Northwest, voted in favour of striking to back their demands.
Dryden-based Carl Bleich, who represents OPSEU employees in the Northwest says there is no indication an agreement will be reached before the March 13th strike deadline.
Salaries are among the contentous issues.
Bleich is also upset with comments made by the Tory government with regards to the talks.
He says the government’s belief that they have presented a “positive offer” and that any strike would be “unnecessary and unwarranted” is not true.
Bleich admits the government did offer a slight wage increase in its latest offer however other aspects were unacceptable.
A majority of the four thousand OPSEU workers in the Northwest work for the courts and Ministries of Natural Resources and Labour.