OTTAWA – Workers at Oxfam Canada represented by CUPE 2722 are facing a strike deadline this Thursday after negotiations failed to produce movement from the employer on key workplace protections and compensation issues that union members say are consistent with Oxfam’s publicly stated values.
Despite Oxfam’s values of fighting inequality and patriarchy to end poverty and injustice, the organization has refused to support important collective agreement provisions in its own workplace that reflect not just fair compensation but feminist principles the employer claims to support.
Among the outstanding issues are protections for workers seeking gender-affirming care, supports for victims of domestic violence, and the maintenance of cost-of-living adjustment language and a fair wage increase that helps protect workers’ wages from rising costs.
“Oxfam has built its reputation on standing up against inequality and advocating for justice,” said Carla Caxaj, a member of the CUPE 2722 bargaining committee. “Our members believe in those values and work every day to advance it. That’s why it’s so disappointing that the employer is refusing to support workplace protections like leave for gender-affirming care and is seeking to roll back language that helps workers keep up with the cost of living. We are simply asking Oxfam to live up to the values it promotes.”
CUPE 2722 members have been bargaining in good faith and remain committed to reaching a negotiated settlement. However, with a strike deadline approaching, members are prepared for possible job action if a fair agreement cannot be reached.
“Our members are fighting against concessions and for a workplace that reflects the feminist and equity principles Oxfam Canada publicly champions,” Caxaj added. “There is still time to avoid a strike, but it will require meaningful movement from the employer on the issues that matter most to workers.”
CUPE 2722 is calling on supporters to contact Oxfam Canada’s Board of Directors and urge them to direct the organization to negotiate a fair agreement and avoid a labour dispute.
The public is being asked to support CUPE 2722 members by sending a letter to Oxfam Canada’s Board of Directors at www.cupe.ca/oxfam
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For more information, contact:
Eric Bell
CUPE Communications
[email protected]
(306) 580-0893
