TORONTO, ON – Today for the first time during the COVID-19 crisis Ontario health care workers are openly protesting provincial government decisions they say divide the workforce into those who are front-line heroes and those whose vital contribution goes completely unrecognized. Outdoor protests by hospital staff represented by Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) are…
TORONTO – Without adequate PPE and protocols, developmental services residences will become the next major sites of COVID-19 cases in Ontario, says the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents 8,000 workers at 64 residences across the province. The union is demanding the provincial government provide proper protections for people with developmental disabilities and…
CUPE Ontario has joined more than 50 organizations across Canada to send a letter to the federal government calling for emergency and permanent transit operating funding. You can read the letter below. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Honorable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, Honorable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport, Honorable Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance,…
TORONTO, ON – Education workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in Ontario are gearing up to help friends and neighbours whose lives and workplaces have been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. CUPE school board leaders have strongly endorsed the provincial government’s “community involvement” initiative, paving the way for the union’s education…
TORONTO, ON – Library workers represented by CUPE Local 4948 have voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new, five-year collective agreement that maintains job security and makes some important human rights gains. “We are pleased that CUPE library workers have ratified this agreement, bargained in unprecedented times,” said Brandon Haynes, president of CUPE local 4948, which…
(TORONTO, ON) The Government of Ontario should continue to increase spending and invest in the services Ontarians need, says the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario released its Spring 2020 Economic and Budget Outlook report today, revealing that the pandemic has increased spending and will significantly impact the province’s…
“We woke up Thursday morning to one of our members who has just died of COVID on the front line, and you want to talk to us about watering down what we consider already weak protections for the front line,” CUPE Ontario Secretary-Treasurer Candace Rennick said. “It’s a bit offensive.” Read the full article here.
A CUPE personal support worker has passed away from COVID-19 at the Madonna Care Community in Ottawa. “Despite the claims that there are adequate supplies on the front lines we are hearing directly that that is in fact not the case. People are still being denied access to masks. Not one more health care worker…
“Many of these jobs are paid at a rate that is absolutely not commensurate with the value that they give to our community” said CUPE Ontario president Fred Hahn. “We think pandemic pay should not be a temporary thing. This should be a permanent measure where enhanced funding is permanently provided.” Watch the news video here.
We at CUPE Ontario are beyond heartbroken that a second CUPE health care member has tragically died of COVID-19. We honour the memory of a treasured personal support worker (PSW), a loving father and spouse, and well-loved colleague of the members of CUPE 2199 at the Madonna Community Care home in Ottawa. To his family…
