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JP Hornick at OPSEU rally Sept 17

Public sector union fights for retroactive increases for Ontario community and social services workers

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The Ontario Public Service Employees Union says the underfunding of community and social services is pushing workers to the brink.

The union has launched a campaign, calling for fair wages for workers and funding increases to the agencies they work for.

OPSEU President JP Hornick says it is a major issue in contract talks.

“Thousands of OPSEU/SEFPO members in the Worth Fighting For campaign are taking a historic stand, not just for wage justice, but for the future of the services and the care that they provide,” says Hornick.

Hornick says 27 bargaining units have filed no board reports in separate negotiations.

The union wants the government to compensate workers who were impacted by wage-restricting legislation that was eventually declared unconstitutional in the courts.

This led to agreements of retroactive increases for some public sector workers, such as those working in colleges and hospitals.

Hornick says thousands of others are waiting for the same treatment.

“These employers cannot deliver the retroactive wage increases alone,” says Hornick.

“These workers have been at the bargaining table with their employers, and they’ve told them as much that the funding just isn’t there. It’s on Ford to make this right.”

The union notes a $1.5 billion funding shortfall for the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services.

The latest provincial budget shows a 2.4% decrease to the Ministry’s allocation over the next year.

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Education unions seek early start to contract talks with Ontario

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Ontario’s major education unions would like contract talks toward new agreements to start as soon as possible.

L’Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO), Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA), Ontario School Board Council of Unions (CUPE-OSBCU), and Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) have asked Education Minister Paul Calandra give approval.

They say Calandra has the authority to issue a regulation, allowing bargaining to begin up to 180 days before the current agreements expire on August 31.

In doing so, talks could begin as early as this month.

“Ontario’s teachers and education workers are ready to go. We are united. And we are committed to championing the voices of parents, students, teachers, and education workers at the bargaining table,” read a statement from the five education unions.

The unions cite a number of pressing issues impacting education.

They point to chronic underfunding and understaffing as having an impact on students.

“We see this reality every day in our schools, through overcrowded classrooms, a growing shortage of qualified and certified teachers and education workers, inadequate supports for students with Special Education needs, rising incidents of violence, and a lack of basic school supplies, like paper, pencils, and textbooks,” the statement reads.

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First Contract Awarded For Hwy Twinning

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A first contract has been issued for the planned twinning of the Trans Canada Highway between Kenora and the Manitoba border.

The province is awarding the work to Kenora-based Moncreif Construction.

It will work on the first section of the project, a 6.5-kilometre stretch, starting at the Manitoba-Ontario border.

The work will start this spring, ending in the summer of 2025.

“Awarding the construction contract for twinning Highway 17 is an exciting milestone towards making this critical highway safer for drivers in northern Ontario,” says Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney.

The contract includes requirements to work with area Indigenous partners in the area.

Construction on two other of the four-laning will take place once environmental assessment, and route planning and design are complete.

The other sections include Highway 673 to Rush Bay Road (8.5 km) and Rush Bay Rd. to Highway 17A (25 km).

“The twinning of Highway 17 is a legacy infrastructure project that will make roads safer in the Kenora region,” says Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford. “Families deserve to feel safe on the roads and that is exactly what our government will accomplish by widening this stretch of the highway. Having more room on the road is critical, especially during the winter months in northern Ontario.”

 

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Tentative Deal For Hydro One Workers

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Hydro One has reached two tentative agreements with the Power Workers’ Union.

The deal impacts some 3,800 full-time and 1,400 casual employees on the front-lines as well as staff in Customer Service Operations.

Union members will now vote on the deals with the outcome expected by the end of September.

Hydro One President and CEO Mark Poweska says negotiations were open and productive and the agreements recognize the crucial role their front-line staff play in energizing life for their customers and communities during this challenging and uncertain time.

 

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KPDSB Reaches Tentative Local Deals With The OSSTF and ETFO

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The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board hopes to have labour peace with its teachers and occasional teachers for the next couple of years.

Tentative local agreements have been reached with the Elementary Teachers Federation and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation.

Sherri-Lynne Pharand is the Director of Education and says it was a unique negotiation.

“We’re very pleased and want to really thank the table teams from both the board and ETFO for working together in a new format,” says Pharand.

“This the first time we’ve ever negotiated virtually and reached agreements.”

The school board and the OSSTF are scheduled to hold ratification votes before July 31st.

No dates have been given for ETFO members.

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Tentative Contract For Local Education Workers

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High school office, clerical and library staff with the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board have reached a tentative deal.

The public school board and members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation of Ontario have until June 23 to ratify the contract.

Although a provincial deal had already been reached, a number of local issues had to be ironed out.

The parties were able to work together through virtual meetings to secure the agreement.

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Postal Workers Get Four Year Deal

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Canada’s postal workers finally have a contract.

A federal arbitrator is awarding a new four-year deal.

The ruling impacts both urban and rural mail carriers and is retroactive to February 1st of 2018.

It includes wage increases of 2% in the first two years, a 2.5% hike for this year and a further 2.9% increase in 2021.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says it’s still reviewing the award, describing it as comprehensive and lengthy.

The decision comes 562 days after the labour dispute between the union and Canada Post was handed off to an arbitrator after the federal government ended a series of rotating strikes.

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High School Teachers Begin Voting Today

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We could be just days away from total labour peace in the education sector in the province.

That’s because public high school teachers and education workers will be voting on a tentative contract agreement with the Ford government.

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation is holding online voting for its members Thursday and Friday.

The voting is for the central or provincial portion of the deal which includes wages and class sizes.

Local agreements will still need to be ratified.

If they vote to accept, it will mark an official close to the labour unrest which plagued the education system in the months leading up to March break between the four major teacher’s unions in Ontario.

Members of the other three unions have already voted to accept their new contracts.

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New Contract For Education Workers

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Education workers in the province have a new three year contract.

The Ford government has ratified the agreement with the Ontario Council of Educational Workers.

Terms haven’t been released.

The union represents public and catholic educational assistants, clerical workers, designated early childhood educators, technical support staff and other workers.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce says their primary goal from the start was to reach good deals with teachers’ and education workers’ unions, that will advance the priorities of students and parents.

Lecce adds “Education workers play a critical role in promoting positive learning environments for students in all corners of our province. They provide a safe and stimulating educational environment that promotes growth and learning.”

He adds “Our government demonstrated an unwavering commitment to reaching deals that will protect our children’s futures and invest in their potential. We now have tentative central agreements with everyone and have delivered six ratified deals to date.”

 

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Elementary Teachers Ratify Three Year Contract

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Members of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario have ratified a new three year contract.

Instructors and education workers will receive a 1% pay hike per year as well as a 1% increase to benefits funding in each year of the deal.

The province is investing roughly $89.1-million over two years to address special education needs as well as mental health and well-being initiatives.

The government is maintaining full-day kindergarten and retaining the exisiting staffing model in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8 in the next two school years.

Teachers will be provided with one half-day of violence prevention training in each of the upcoming two school years.

The collective agreement will be effective September 1st, 2019, through to August 31st, 2022.

 

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