WATERLOO, ON – The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing front-line Waterloo public services workers, commends the Region of Waterloo for refusing to accept recommendations made by an outside consultant firm and, instead, voted last night to save and invest in child care and employment services provided to Waterloo residents by the Region of Waterloo workers represented by CUPE 1883.
“We are encouraged that council stood up for public services and voted to recognize the importance of these services that help our children and residents from the community,” said Jan Richards, president of CUPE 1883. “Our community worked hard to ensure that council knew and understood the importance of public services and how it shapes the lives of people living in Waterloo.” CUPE 1883 worked closely with community allies to save the services that many Waterloo residents and children rely on.
“The Waterloo Regional Council has made the right decision to maintain important public services that the people in the region rely on every day,” said Fred Hahn, president of CUPE Ontario. “CUPE members are proud of the work they do in communities delivering front-line quality child care and employment services that strengthen their communities.”
CUPE 1883 represents 864 ‘inside’ workers at the Region of Waterloo. The highly trained professional child care workers at the five child care centres will continue to provide quality child care services including the HighScope Curriculum approach to early childhood education, while the workers at the Employment Ontario program will continue to offer a one-stop shop for Waterloo residents to help them gain education, training and employment. Council voted 14-1 to continue to provide child care services in five regionally operated centres, and they voted 9-6 to continue the delivery of Employment Ontario services in the Region of Waterloo.
For more information, please contact:
Jan Richards, CUPE 1883 President, 519-580-0859
Jill Smyth, CUPE National Representative, 519-502-6806
James Chai, CUPE Communications, 905-739-3999
