Tag: Job cuts
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St. Lawrence College loses its last librarian
Kingston – St. Lawrence College will have newly renovated libraries but no college librarian to support students, staff, and faculty, says the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU). The college’s libraries in Kingston, Cornwall, and Brockville are staffed with five library technicians and one college librarian. As of January 12, 2018, the college librarian position…
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Letter from Warren (Smokey) Thomas to the Premier re: Bill 177, Schedule 35: Provincial Prosecutions
Warren (Smokey) Thomas, President of OPSEU, sent the following letter to Premier Kathleen Wynne regarding Section 35 (public prosecutions) of Bill 177, the Stronger, Fairer Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2017. November 27, 2017 Hon. Kathleen Wynne Premier of Ontario Room 281, Main Legislative Building, Queen’s Park Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A1 Re: Bill 177, Schedule 35:…
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St. Catharines City Council wants report on NPCA
Region 2 Vice President Lucy Morton addressed St. Catharines City Council on October 16, speaking in favour of a motion to call on the Ontario government to appoint a supervisor to oversee operations at the NPCA. Council wants report on NPCA Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority representatives were on their feet for more than an hour…
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OPSEU and MPPs call for province to appoint supervisor to NPCA
On October 4, OPSEU President Smokey Thomas hosted a press conference in St. Catharines, attended by MPPs Cindy Forster (Welland), Wayne Gates (Niagara Falls) and OPSEU Region 2 Vice President Lucy Morton in the wake of eight layoffs at the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority. Niagara region media covered the issue extensively. Here are their stories. NPCA, union…
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‘Citizens must be heard’ on NPCA crisis, OPSEU’s Thomas says
St. Catharines – The President of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) is calling on citizens in the Niagara Region to make themselves heard about the controversy swirling around the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA). “The people of Niagara Region have been learning the truth about the NPCA for the past couple of years,”…
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Confidential memo details NPCA talks with region
Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority chair Sandy Annunziata met with regional staff in September to get Niagara Region to take on more of the planning portion of its watershed management responsibilities. Both the union representing workers at the NPCA and two of Niagara's MPPs have expressed serious concerns with the agency's plans. To read the whole…
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NPCA axes eight frontline staffers
Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority has cut eight frontline staff in a move that has angered the union, stunned local MPPs and incensed local environmental activists. To read the story in the St. Catharines Standard, click here. Ontario public sector union leader slams Niagara Conservation Authority for gutting watershed department In an interview with Niagara at…
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NPCA approves 2018 operating budget
Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority board’s approval of its 2018 operating budget is being applauded by the agency’s CAO and panned by the union. OPSEU, the union that represents the workers, said the operating budget will result in almost $1 million in cuts to staff in the watershed and corporate resources departments. To read the whole story…
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Layoffs at Chatham-Kent Children’s Services ‘a miscarriage of justice’: Thomas
Chatham – Local 148 of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), which represents workers at Chatham-Kent Children’s Services, is fighting employer plans to lay off approximately 30 full- and part-time staff members, or about 20 per cent of the 150 workers with the agency. “These layoffs are completely unnecessary and utterly arbitrary,” said Local…
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Home care layoffs reveal flaw in the law: OPSEU
Parry Sound – A group of personal support workers (PSWs) with the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) in Parry Sound all received permanent layoff notices this Wednesday, when the VON announced it is ending its contract to provide home care services in the region. The contract will likely be handed over to CarePartners, a for-profit…
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Reverse cuts to pre/post-natal programming, Ottawa CAS workers say
Ottawa – Members of Local 454 of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) will host a news conference Tuesday to demand that the Ottawa Children’s Aid Society reinstate its recently-disbanded pre/post-natal care unit. Date: Tuesday, May 30, 2017 Time: 10:00 a.m. Place: Ottawa District Labour Council, 280 Metcalfe St., Ottawa “It’s unconscionable that Ottawa CAS…
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MNR not cops should handle bears: Thomas
Trained Ministry of Natural Resource officers — not police officers — should deal with so-called nuisance bears, OPSEU president Warren “Smokey” Thomas says. Read the full article in the Toronto Sun. Related: OPSEU in the News
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Radical cuts to teaching, support positions will hurt college students
Toronto – Radical proposals in a leaked PricewaterhouseCooper report, including slashing thousands of faculty and support staff jobs, will hurt college students, says the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), which represents more than 20,000 college workers. The chair of OPSEU’s College Academic Division, RM Kennedy, said the report’s authors ignored the most important reason for…
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OPSEU fears job, service cuts with merger of Ajax-Pickering hospital with Lakeridge Health
At a press conference on October 17, representatives of OPSEU expressed deep concern about "ill-advised and expensive" hospital mergers that will undermine the health of nearly a million people living along the 401 corridor in Scarborough and Durham. Read the full article here in the Ajax News Advertiser. Related: OPSEU in the News
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Liberals need the boot, not a re-boot: Thomas
Toronto – The Liberal government of Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne needs “the boot, not a re-boot,” the President of the Ontario Public Service Employees says. "After two years of lurching from mistake to mistake, the Liberals don’t need to ‘refresh their brand’,” Warren (Smokey) Thomas said today. “They need to call an election.” Today’s Speech…
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Workers gather to keep Milton ServiceOntario office open
OPSEU workers and staff gathered on Wednesday in front of the ServiceOntario outlet at 2800 Highpoint Drive in Milton, one of 10 outlets that until recently were slated for closure by the Liberal government. While strong public pressure forced the government to put the closures on hold, the fight to save these outlets continues. Workers…
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Protest tells Naidoo-Harris: Speak up to keep Milton ServiceOntario office open
Milton – Members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union will demonstrate Wednesday to call on local MPP Indira Naidoo-Harris to help stop the closure of the ServiceOntario outlet in Milton and others across Ontario. Date: Wednesday, June 29, 2016 Time: 12:00 noon – 2:00 p.m. Place: 2800 Highpoint Drive, Milton, Ontario "We are gathering…
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Community rallies for Westdale Mall ServiceOntario
The Westdale Mall ServiceOntario centre in Mississauga is always abuzz with activity as area residents renew their health card, get a new driver’s licence or pick up licence plate stickers. But at lunch hour on June 22, a lot more came by – not to receive services, but to give notice to the government that…
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Protest calls for Mississauga ServiceOntario office in Westdale Mall to stay open
A protest was held in Westdale Mall Wednesday to contest the closure of a ServiceOntario office. About two dozen people stood outside the office entrance and rallied against the provincial government's decision to shut the office down, along with eight others across Ontario, this October Read the full article in the Mississauga News. Related: OPSEU…
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Mississauga rallies to save its ServiceOntario office
Mississauga, Ontario – Residents, merchants, and union members will rally today to save the only full-service, publicly operated ServiceOntario outlet in Mississauga. Date: Wednesday, June 22, 2016 Time: 12:00 noon – 1:00 p.m. Place: ServiceOntario centre, Westdale Mall, 1151 Dundas Street West, Mississauga Workers at the Westdale office were informed in May that their ServiceOntario…