Jonathan Guider, OPSEU/SEFPO Local 166 President and BPS Corrections Chair, spoke with The Middlesex Banner regarding chronic short-staffing, low wages, heavy workloads and insufficient safety equipment at Craigwood Youth Services. Their employer’s response has consistently been that there is insufficient funding from the Ministry to resolve these issues. This puts both workers and youth at risk.
Jonathan Guider, a member of the local union and a worker at the Ailsa Craig facility for 24 years, described the disparity between transfer-payment facilities like Craigwood and their counterparts operated directly by the ministry. “We do the exact jobs, except at Craigwood, I have to wear many more hats,” Guider said. He explained that workers juggle tasks such as cooking, cleaning, medication management, and counselling—all for a starting wage of approximately $19 an hour. In comparison, according to Guider, employees at direct-operated facilities earn upwards of $43 an hour with superior benefits and safety standards.
The discrepancy in compensation and conditions has led to high staff turnover, burnout, and difficulties in recruitment. “The job comes with shift work on weekends, often stressful, violence, lots of responsibility,” Guider noted. “And yet, our wages remain significantly lower.”
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