A few dozen Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) local 1623 members gathered outside of Health Sciences North on April 18, in a rally to push Ontario hospitals to treat the hospital workers they represent with respect at the bargaining table.
Union members in Sudbury were among thousands from around the province who rallied Wednesday in alliance with SEIU Healthcare and Unifor as they push for a new contract. The unions have been without a contract since Sept. 29, 2017 and CUPE 1623 president Dave Shelefontiuk says that his members have been disrespected by the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA).
"The central bargaining team of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions have been to the table with the OHA, along with the SEIU and Unifor around the exact same time and we were all treated the exact same way ... disrespectful," said Shelfontiuk.
"The OHA had numerous concessions to the benefits, to the sick time ... all they wanted to do was take stuff away and they offer nothing so of course all three unions walked from the table."
Shelefontiuk says it's a historical partnership that has been formed as all three unions have come together to work as one to get back to the bargaining table and get a contract completed.
Northeastern Ontario hospital workers are among hospital staff at more than 100 hospitals province-wide who are seeking a fair contract without concessions. They are optimistic that a new deal can be achieved this coming weekend when negotiations resume.
For CUPE, it is the first time back at bargaining since contract talks broke off late in September 2017.
As it stands, Shelefontiuk says the unions and the hospital association are "extremely far apart" in terms of reaching a deal.
"All three unions felt the same reaction from the OHA. There's a lack of respect for what our members do, there's 75,000 members between the three unions combined," said Shelefontiuk, who says that their unified front is giving the central bargaining team the power to take any measures necessary to get a deal done.
"It can include pickets like these ones, rallies at the MPP's office, rallies at Queen's Park, up to work stoppages of varying types."
On Wednesday, CUPE, SEIU and Unifor members at hospitals across Ontario participated in a workplace solidarity action. They held up signs that read, ‘Together for Respect’.
“Workloads for hospital staff are difficult. They are exhausted. These are the most productive hospital workers in the country, but their employers came to bargaining seeking very serious concessions. Also, the hospitals refuse to extend the wage increases they voluntarily agreed to with lab employees, to the nursing, clerical and support staff that we represent," said Michael Hurley, CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU/CUPE) president in a news release.
“Staff experience terrible violence at work. Yet, we have not been able to deal with the issue of violence in the bargaining. We hope that our members’ support will propel us into successful bargaining with the hospitals April 21 and 22,”
More information about the tri-union ‘Together for Respect’ campaign can be found here.
