Ottawa, ON – There should be one set of rules that apply to all hospital staff said the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) today in calling out the CEO of the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre (ROMHC) for her silence on the storm over the approval of international travel and paid quarantine for a…
TORONTO, ON. – Today the Ontario government took a giant step in acknowledging that COVID-19 is an airborne virus by announcing they are investing in an “airborne COVID-19 detector”, says the Canadian Union of Public Employees. CEM Specialties Inc. (CEMSI) will get $2 million through the Ontario Together Fund to help commercialize and accelerate production…
Toronto, ON — Members of CUPE Local 4891, which represents workers at Regeneration Community Services, have responded to the employer’s attempt to impose a three-year wage and benefit freeze by voting 92% in favor of striking if necessary. “After the appointment of a conciliation officer and months of talks, our employer continues to insist on…
TORONTO, ON. – Even before the new COVID-19 variants hit Ontario, health care worker infections were dangerously high, doubling in the last three months to over 16,000, the Ontario government’s own data shows. In 2020 for the first 10 months of the pandemic to October 23, 7,488 health care staff contracted COVID-19 at work. In…
KINGSTON, ON – Staff morale is low – stress high at Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC), nearly a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said today. Following months of gruelling long hours, critical staff shortages and an environment where there is no pay for staff who have to isolate…
Last night, CUPE Ontario held a Town Hall Call on the COVID-19 vaccine. Guest Panelist and infectious disease expert Dr. Tara Moriarty from the University of Toronto noted the following: 1) If you’re a Canadian who would like to ATTEND our nightly Zoom sessions about COVID-19 vaccine safety, please sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdrp0-GkyZS1Oe4cu4T7F6t1xdumCr9HmWo5dUwAYaRaw0AWw/viewform 2) If you’d like to request a special…
TORONTO, ON – By not announcing paid sick days for all hospital, long-term care and other essential workers, Ontario’s Premier missed a key opportunity this week to tell “this important workforce – who are at greater risk of COVID-19 infection – that the province has their back for the increased risk they face,” says Michael…
HAMILTON, ON – With a flurry of new COVID-19 outbreaks in Hamilton hospitals, long-term care, and retirement homes this weekend – bringing the total to 36 outbreaks locally – today area hospital union leaders urged the province to include the region as a vaccination priority area. All residents, health care workers and essential caregivers at…
TORONTO, ON – Calling the Ontario PC government’s effort to ramp up long-term care reforms like a care standard and increased staffing “lethargic and inadequate”, today the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) joined advocates urging military intervention to curb COVID-19 wave two infection outbreaks in care homes. “We are tragically losing the battle to…
TORONTO, ON – A long-awaited plan for staffing in long-term care released today by the Ontario government squarely recognizes that front-line care staff are a vital “pillar” to improve resident well-being, says the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario. “These are long overdue improvements. While we do not have the full details, what was…
