TORONTO – Members of OCEU/CUPE 1750 were at Queen’s Park yesterday to update Ontario workers on the continued challenges they are facing in their negotiations with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB).
“If the WSIB cannot present an offer that respects my coworkers and our needs, we will be forced to take legal strike action.at all of our 16 regional locations across Ontario, said Harry Goslin, President of OCEU/CUPE 1750.
“We don’t want that to happen. Nothing concerns us more than the effect that job action might have on injured workers who need our help. We will do our best to minimize those impacts. We can’t let the WSIB exploit our compassion for injured workers in order to force a deal that puts us even further behind. And Ontarians can’t afford to let the WSIB limp along with a stagnating workforce.“
More than 3600 employees of the WSIB are seeking meaningful action on the dangerously high workloads which are dramatically impacting their ability to serve the injured workers who rely on them.
The OCEU/CUPE 1750 members were joined by Fred Hahn, President of CUPE Ontario, Laura Walton from the Ontario Federation of Labour, and MPPs of Lise Vaugeois and Jamie West, who spoke in support of the union.
The union remains committed to doing everything they can to reach a deal but needs the employer to come to the table as a willing partner. The employer and the union have managed to negotiate an extension of the deadline to allow more time to reach a settlement but remain far apart on the key issues. The union will be in a legal strike position on May 21st.
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For more information, please contact:
Bill Chalupiak, CUPE Communications Representative
416-707-1401
mb/cope491
