Toronto, ON – On Tuesday the provincial government introduced legislation suspending many workplace protections for health care staff for a period of at least one year. The Ontario Council of Hospital Unions/Canadian Union of Public Employees is in the process of securing a mandate from its hospital members to oppose the legislation in a meaningful way.…
(TORONTO, ON) The Ford Conservatives’ proposed legislation extending emergency powers will give the province significant powers at the expense of front-line workers, according to the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario. “Emergency orders and the power to make immediate decisions to defend against a public health crisis are supposed to be temporary,” said Candace…
Toronto, ON — Ford’s conservatives continue to steer child care in Ontario on a disastrous course, as tens of thousands of parents prepare to return-to-work without accessible child care. “We’re giving the Ford government an F for their botched child-care re-opening,” says Carrie Lynn Poole-Cotnam. “Child care centres are faced with enormous challenges during COVID-19.…
Our communities are getting through this crisis, and will thrive on the other side, because of the efforts of front-line workers. These are the workers in our long-term care facilities caring for the elderly; in group homes caring for people with disabilities and providing a range of supports for the most vulnerable; in our towns and cities, providing…
(TORONTO, ON) With Toronto and Peel joining nearly all of Ontario in entering Stage 2 of reopening, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario calls for a new normal with a permanent front-line pay increase. Until August 16, almost 400,000 front-line workers in Ontario will receive a $4/hour pandemic pay increase as an acknowledgement…
OTTAWA, ON – Today the Ontario Labour Relations Board confirmed that workers at Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights (Action Canada) voted overwhelmingly to join the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). The workers voted on May 5, but the ballots could not be counted until today because of objections raised by the employer, which…
Toronto, ON — Ford’s conservatives continue to fail parents during COVID-19. More than a week after the announced child care re-opening, no new funding to support child care centres during the pandemic has been introduced. “Ford’s plan to reopen child care centres is risky—he’s taking a gamble on the health and safety of children, parents,…
TORONTO, ON – Although they’ve provided therapies, tests and other key supports to patients throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of highly skilled hospital staff are still excluded from receiving Ontario’s $4/hour pandemic pay. In addition, none of the premium has flowed to the paycheques of staff the province has tapped as eligible. Today across Ontario…
(TORONTO, ON) – With municipalities still facing immense financial impacts due to the crisis, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario is dismayed that in nearly a month the Government of Ontario has yet to respond to the union’s joint letter with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) urging immediate support. The President…
TORONTO, ON – Paramedics with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) are raising concerns about non-medical grade masks that may have entered some Ontario land ambulance services supplies. Ontario’s health minister yesterday told media that non-medical grade masks introduced into the paramedic service in Renfrew County entered the supply chain through sources other than…
