PARRY SOUND, ON – At Tuesday’s town council meeting, a representative of child welfare workers locked out by Children’s Aid Society (CAS) of the District of Nipissing and Parry Sound will make a deputation to councillors about the ongoing labour dispute.
Members of Local 2049 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) were locked out of their jobs by the society on December 23. At the invitation of Parry Sound mayor Jamie McGarvey, CUPE 2049 president Debbie Hill will address the harmful effect of the ongoing lockout – now in its seventh week – on the communities that rely on the agency for child protection services.
“Children’s aid societies are the responsibility of the province, but this lockout is affecting local people in municipalities in the Parry Sound district. Councillors and residents alike should be concerned,” said Hill. “Vulnerable children and families are hurting, workers are hurting, and residents aren’t getting the levels of child protection services they deserve.”
Among the topics that Hill will outline in her deputation: the risk to vulnerable children and youth from the lockout; the impact of workers’ wages lost to local economies; the use of replacement workers; and the issues behind the labour dispute.
Who: Child protection worker and CUPE 2049 president Debbie Hill, locked out by the Nipissing and Parry Sound children’s aid society
What: Deputation to Parry Sound town council
When: Tuesday, February 7 at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Parry Sound Municipal Office, 52 Seguin Street, Parry Sound
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For more information, contact:
Debbie Hill, President, CUPE 2049, 705-358-5887
Fran Bélanger, CUPE National Representative, 705-262-3909
Mary Unan, CUPE Communications, 647-390-9839
