OPSEU wants strike safety guarantee for non-correctional workers Featured

“By allowing OPS managers to take the place of correctional professionals, you endanger their lives, the lives of inmates and the lives of Ontarians in the community”.

That order, expected to come down this Sunday, will determine whether or not two Brampton facilities – Roy McMurty Youth Centre and Ontario Correctional Institute – and other institutions across Ontario will have enough staff to maintain sufficient service levels.

Warren Smokey Thomas sent an open letter to the London North Centre MPP on Wednesday that asked her to first guarantee the safety of other unionized workers at provincial correctional facilities should guards go on strike Monday.

Donolo said the managers have been trained to perform the work done by those who will be on strike, adding that “most direct contact with inmates will be handled and overseen by experienced corrections managers”.

The union for correctional and probation officers has scheduled a last-ditch attempt at reaching a contract with the Ontario government and avoiding a strike.

The government refused to give specifics of how that $8.5 million was spent, but the union said they have put in living quarters for the managers to run the jails on a 24-hour basis, placed trailers on some jail grounds and trucked in refrigerated containers of frozen food. But Thomas said he is instructing them not to go in until they are satisfied the managers running the jails during a strike can ensure their safety.

“These individuals manage IT workers, policy analysts and correspondence writers”, he wrote to Matthews. This includes new and expanded spaces that could be repurposed for inmate programming and learning after the labour negotiations are resolved.

“Our top priority remains the health and safety of our staff and inmates….”

The warring parties have been back-and-forth since the existing contract expired December 31, 2014.

OPSEU is calling for a wage increase and more staff at jails across the province.

Cost increases were offset through changes to employee benefits and entitlements over the three-year contract, including a freeze on length of service salary raises in 2016 and 2017 and a cap on termination payments.

The provincial government has apparently offered annual increases of zero, 1.4% and 1.4%. Union members say they haven’t received a raise in five years.

At the same time, the government suspended about 70 Toronto-area correctional officers without pay during that strike, blaming them for delays in providing inmate meals and insulin shots.