TORONTO, ON – Ontario Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy today signaled that the assault against the little guy that began with the cancelations of social assistance and minimum wage hikes, will now shift to reducing the incomes of hundreds of thousands of hard working people delivering public services like healthcare, education, childcare and long-term care Candace Rennick, Secretary-Treasurer of CUPE, Ontario’s largest union, said today.
“Why is the government consulting on how to lower workers incomes when public sector wage settlements in Ontario in 2018 were already at 1.6%, well below the 2.4% inflation rate?” Rennick asked.
“The government’s stated goal is wage outcomes lower than the current trend, but workers are already seeing their real incomes reduced year over year. Isn’t that punishment enough for people who work hard and have done nothing wrong?”
“Ontario’s workers are not overpaid and cutting their incomes will only hurt families and slow down the province’s economic growth”, Rennick said as she announced that CUPE will ask Ontarians to reject the Ford government’s mean-spirited attack on the workers who deliver public services to Ontario families 24/7.
“If this government truly cares about front line workers and about Ontario’s fiscal health, they will use next weeks’ budget to fix the unfair tax system that lets corporations off the hook and leaves Ontario without the revenue to balance the budget or to fix crumbling schools”, Rennick said.
CUPE is Ontario’s largest union, with over 270,000 members across the province, delivering public services that Ontarians rely on every day.
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For more information, please contact:
Caedmon Malowany, CUPE Communications, 204-801-9136
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