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St. Catharines, Ont. – Mediation talks between Lincoln County Humane Society and their front line workers broke off today after management provoked their own workers to strike, said the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing 15 humane society workers.
“Management came into mediation talks to push their workers out on the street,” said Dean Mainville, CUPE National Representative. “The employer came back to the table with even more demands than before and was not there to negotiate but to provoke our members to strike – unfortunately, it will be the animals in our community that will suffer if management is successful in pushing their workers to strike.”
In addition to demanding major concessions, including wage rollbacks and no benefits for new employees, management threw in more demands during mediation talks. “It was very clear that the employer had no intention of bargaining and reaching a deal,” continued Mainville. “We offered solutions to reach a deal but management did not budge. The workers are already overworked and underappreciated and this was designed to show who was boss – this is not the way to treat workers.”
“The employer cannot expect workers to pay for management’s questionable decisions,” said Mainville. “After all, it was management who made the decision to build and raise funding for a spay/neuter clinic that still remains idle and has taken all the resources away from the core operations; that is why we are now in this situation.”
With the strike deadline set for Friday, February 24 at 12:01 am, “our members remain deeply committed to the welfare of the animals in our community and remain available to go back to the mediation table to reach a fair deal and avert a strike,” said Mainville.
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For more information, please contact:
Dean Mainville, CUPE National Representative, 905-741-7541
James Chai, CUPE Communications, 416-292-3999
