Latest news with #labourrelations
CBC
23-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Public sector workers rally in Charlottetown for better support and against privatization
Dozens of people rallied in Charlottetown on Thursday to urge the province to better support public services and recognize the essential workers who maintain them. Many of the people gathered were public sector workers, who assembled outside the provincial government office on Rochford Street. The rally was organized by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) P.E.I., which represents public sector workers in areas such as education, health care, municipalities and post-secondary education. "We have been asking for respect at the bargaining table for responses to questions and queries that we have for government to meaningfully invest in public services for ages and ages and ages and we have been ignored over and over and over again," said Ashley Clark, CUPE P.E.I. president. Clark said the rally was meant to send a message to the province that public services are not luxuries, but essential infrastructure that supports the well-being of entire communities. Services like health care and education, she added, are fundamental rights. "Those are the things that people rely on, that people need to live… and this government has consistently been showing that they would rather sell those off than do their jobs and invest in them and support them and allow them to thrive." Clark added that labour relations will be a central issue in the upcoming byelections in the province. "You need to value the people that live here, that work here. These are your constituents." Privatization concerns Clark said the union and its members have been trying to raise concerns with the province about the potential privatization of the public health system, and the province should instead focus on investing more in public services. Their primary concern centres around what Clark calls the "privatization playbook" — a systematic approach she believes is undermining public services. This strategy, she said, begins with starving sectors of resources through austerity and cutbacks, which can lead to public sector workers losing hours and wages. Then comes short staffing, causing systems to crumble. As services deteriorate, people become desperate, and that can create an opening for private sector intervention. "When a private company swoops in, arm's length from the government … they don't have to be accountable," she said. "They swoop in and they make profit off of the things that we need to survive." She added: "If the same service were offered in the public sector, any revenue would get reinvested in that system, would go back to worker wages, would go back to benefits, would go back to having properly resourced facilities and institutions." In a statement to CBC News, the province said it acknowledges the concerns raised by the union and values the important work public sector employees do across the province. "There is no plan to privatize public health services. Our focus remains on improving the services Islanders rely on, supporting frontline workers, and working together to build a stronger more resilient health-care system," the province said. CUPE P.E.I. isn't alone in its concerns. Other groups on the Island have raised alarms about health-care service privatization. The P.E.I. Union of Public Sector Employees has recently expressed concerns about a home-care program by Health P.E.I., which they say is an example of health-care privatization and seems to be millions of dollars over budget. Unaddressed issues in education Clark also pointed out that the union's members working in schools have been vocal about their challenges, with the government failing to address these issues. One of the most alarming concerns, she said, is the workplace violence in schools, where some educators are regularly subjected to physical and verbal abuse. "They're going to bargaining tables and being pushed into conciliation and binding arbitration because the government is not bringing fair wages to the table. They are not bringing improvements to the health and safety concerns that our members have every day in schools," she said.
National Post
22-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
CUPE: Canadian Hearing Services Comes to the Table but Refuses to Bargain - Making Demands but Offering No Deal as Strike Enters Fourth Week
Article content TORONTO — In the first day at the negotiating table in more than two weeks between Canadian Hearing Services (CHS) and CUPE 2073, there were zero proposals exchanged, and no bargaining to speak of. Article content Article content CHS came without a plan move forward, instead bringing list of demands to members, including an end to the public campaign that's seen dozens of current and former CHS clients share heart-wrenching stories of being let down by the agency. Through a government-appointed mediator, CHS indicated that they would only consider workers' latest proposal – or bring their own offer forward – if workers agreed to one-sided conditions: a media blackout and publication ban, the withdrawal of the Unfair Labour Practice that is now before the Ontario Labour Relations Board, and an end to outreach to Accreditation Canada that is encouraging the accreditation body to review CHS' appalling labour relations history. Article content 'They didn't come to the table to find a deal, that much is completely clear. It's heartbreaking to workers, who are struggling to make ends meet, and to the Deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing community who are watching this strike drag on without access to the services they need to live their lives with autonomy and dignity,' said Mara Waern, an employment consultant with more than 35 years' experience at CHS and President of CUPE 2073, representing 206 CHS workers. 'We have been so moved by the outpouring of support from current and former clients who have come to our picket lines and spoken with the media, sharing stories of what CHS used to be and can be once more. It's not just workers that CHS management is trampling on right now. It's the very people they are meant to support.' Article content Along with the powerful testimonials that Deaf and hard of hearing Ontarians have shared with the media and on social media, hundreds of people have sent letters to the CHS Board of Directors while leading Deaf, disability rights, and labour organizations have signed an open letter to Accreditation Canada. Article content CHS' demands for a media blackout come just weeks before their largest annual fundraiser, a golf scholarship tournament. The fundraiser is another sore spot that highlights the change in direction under Dumanian. What used to be a worker-friendly event that was staffed by Deaf workers was transformed in Dumanian's first year, becoming an exclusive event that brings in tens of thousands of dollars – while cutting out any meaningful participation or representation from the Deaf community. Article content 'Nothing about us without us. That's been the slogan of disability rights for decades. But where is the Deaf representation at CHS or at this tournament?' expressed Jennifer Lynch, a Deaf settlement services counsellor at CHS and member of the CUPE 2073 bargaining team. 'They want to silence workers. They want to ignore Deaf people. We will not let either happen. It's time for the Board of Directors to get involved to set this right. It's time for every MPP, every Deaf ally, every resident of Ontario who cares about access and justice to help CHS correct their course.' Article content CUPE 2073 members have been on strike since April 28. The two sides last met on May 6. There are no dates to meet again and CHS has revoked their proposals, so there is no offer for workers to consider. CUPE 2073 remains focused on securing a two-year deal with a five per cent total wage increase to secure stability for workers and the people they support. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
National Post
20-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
CUPE files unfair labour practice, cites "surface bargaining" as cause of strike at Canadian Hearing Services
Article content TORONTO — In the normal course of bargaining, employers and unions exchange proposals and negotiate earnestly over weeks or months to find a middle ground. That is not what happened in the brief negotiations between Canadian Hearing Services (CHS) and CUPE 2073 – which broke down on April 28, resulting in what is now a four-week long strike. Article content Article content In a submission to the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) last week, lawyers for CUPE 2073 – the union representing 206 workers at CHS – contend that the agency violated six sections of the Labour Relations Act, 1995; this includes, among other things, bargaining by ultimatum, interfering with the union's ability to represent its members, and going through the legally mandated motions without any genuine intention of reaching a fair collective agreement. Article content 'They were only willing to bargain for two hours before filing for conciliation. Then they called for a No Board after four more hours and changed the terms of our contract the first day they could. That's not real bargaining, that's playing the system to push workers into a strike,' said Mara Waern, President of CUPE 2073 and an employment consultant with more than 30 years' experience at CHS. Article content The submission further argues that CHS' actions are not isolated incidents but form a calculated course of conduct aimed at breaking the union and allowing the agency to operate more like a business, and less like a community agency. CHS left workers on strike for more than 10 weeks in 2017 and they are showing the same lack of urgency to resolve the current labour disruption, having refused CUPE 2073's request to bring in a third-party mediator to help move things forward. Article content 'Every worker wants to return to our jobs under a fair and equitable collective agreement that meets our needs and invests in services for Deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing Ontarians,' said Waern. 'An unfair labour practice is a legal tool, but this is not an abstract legal concern. Each day that we are left on strike, people who rely on us to fully participate in society are being abandoned. That means missed surgeries, bank appointments, and funerals. There are real world consequences to CHS' uncaring behaviour.' Article content As it stands, there is no offer on the table for workers to consider, and CHS has made no movement to bring new proposals forward. Article content 'This is part of a troubling trend, and it started at the top with Doug Ford steamrolling education workers with Bill 28. It's kept on going with the bosses at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board just this month pulling the rug out from under workers, by terminating their collective agreement only days after they received their bargaining mandate from the province,' said Fred Hahn, President of CUPE Ontario. 'More and more employers are trying to undermine fair collective bargaining. But workers are pushing back, asserting our rights to have a say in our future while demanding the investments our communities deserve.' Article content CUPE's submission to the OLRB asks for an order indicating that CHS has not bargained in good faith – directing CHS to meet with CUPE 2073's bargaining committee for five full days of bargaining to resolve the strike, and compensate members for losses, damages, and expenses incurred as a result of CHS' unlawful conduct that prolonged the strike. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
Globe and Mail
16-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Canada Post should phase out door-to-door delivery as part of overhaul, report recommends
With less than a week before another potential Canada Post strike, a new report warns the Crown corporation is 'effectively insolvent, or bankrupt,' and calls for sweeping changes to ensure its survival — including phasing out individual door-to-door mail delivery. The industrial inquiry commission report, led by labour negotiator and former law professor William Kaplan, outlines several recommendations aimed at breaking the deadlock between Canada Post and its unionized workers, and preserving Canada Post as a 'national institution.' Among the recommendations: Allowing Canada Post to close more rural post offices, expand community mailboxes, and give the postal service flexibility to hire part-time workers for weekend parcel delivery. Canada Post workers could go on strike. Here's what to know Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) have until May 22 to reach a new collective agreement. Without a deal, more than 55,000 workers could workers could legally strike again, after walking off the job for 32 days over November and December of last year. In December, the federal labour relations board ordered postal workers back on the job after a request by then-labour minister Steve MacKinnon. That decision extended the existing collective agreement and triggered the formation of the industrial inquiry commission to figure out why talks have repeatedly failed. Hearings for the inquiry took place in Ottawa in January and February of this year, with participation from both Canada Post and CUPW. The report was delivered to the federal government on Thursday and made public on Friday. Doug Ettinger, president and CEO of Canada Post, praised the report. 'This report provides Canada Post, CUPW, our employees and all Canadians with a frank and straightforward assessment of the challenges we face,' he said in a statement. 'It comes at a critical time as our efforts to respond to the changing delivery needs of the country have taken on greater urgency as Canada works to strengthen its economy in response to U.S. threats.' Earlier this week, Canada Post told workers it was taking a 'temporary pause' in negotiating, citing a lack of progress. CUPW condemned the move as 'reprehensible' and said on Tuesday it expects new proposals from Canada Post 'immediately' following the report's release. The report painted a bleak picture of Canada Post's financial health. 'Without thoughtful, measured, staged, but immediate changes, its fiscal situation will continue to deteriorate.' The report said that CUPW attributed Canada Post's financial challenges to the Crown corporation's bad business decisions, but the report didn't fully agree. 'I am not persuaded by CUPW's assertion that Canada Post's mismanagement and incompetence are the reasons for the current financial situation,' Mr. Kaplan wrote in the report. The report attributes the main reasons for financial losses to the decline of letter mail and increased competition. Canada Post has lost at least $3-billion since 2018, driven by a drop in letter mail volume. In January, it received a $1.034-billion loan from the federal government to help cover operations this year. In its latest annual report, Canada Post said 'at least $1-billion will also be needed in 2026 and each year afterward to maintain operations and meet our employee obligations.' Stephanie Ross, an associate professor of labour studies at McMaster University, said that the report is largely a win for Canada Post. She said the union is being told it has to accept more flexible work and face possible face job losses with the phasing out of services such as door-to-door delivery. But there was a bright spot for workers, she said. The report said that the use of part-time employees during the week and on weekends should not be gig workers, but 'good jobs' under the collective agreement with access to benefits such as a pension. 'There are not a lot of bones being thrown to the union here at all.' The CUPW did not respond to a request for comment on the report.
CTV News
13-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Alberta employees vote 90 per cent in favour of strike in historic vote
Government of Alberta employees have voted to strike. Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) reported on Tuesday that members voted 90 per cent in favour of strike action. More than 80 per cent of members in eight locals voted. AUPE said the results have been delivered to the Alberta Labour Relations Board to verify and confirm. The union has not set a strike date, saying the vote is valid for 120 days but that the bargaining committee remains focused on reaching a deal. 'Historically, strong strike mandates are a powerful tool to bring most employers back to the bargaining table,' AUPE wrote in a press release. 'We remain steadfast in our commitment to good faith negotiations and will continue to push for an equitable agreement.' The impacted AUPE locals include: Local 001, which has almost 6,000 members provincewide in most Government of Alberta (GOA) worksites; Local 002, which represents administrative and program service workers; Local 003, which represents GOA employees in law enforcement roles; Local 004, which represents GOA employees in trades; Local 005, which represents 1,200 employees who work in natural resources and conservation; Local 006, which represents employees in social services fields; Local 009, which represents members in health, therapy, institutional and patient support services; and Local 012, which represents members in technical services. This is the first time Alberta public sector workers have had the legal right to strike, after legislation was changed in 2017. CTV News Edmonton has reached out to the Minister of Finance and is awaiting a response.
