OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas’ demand that ServiceOntario remain in public hands was formally read into the official record of Ontario’s Legislative Assembly on May 15. In correspondence to Premier Dalton McGuinty on May 14, Thomas said the government must withdraw the controversial section of this year’s budget bill that privatizes ServiceOntario. Yesterday, MPP Paul Miller (Hamilton East–Stoney Creek), the NDP’s critic for Government Services, rose in the Legislature and read into Hansard the OPSEU president’s correspondence to McGuinty. When he finished, Miller went on to describe the scheme to privatize ServiceOntario as a “nightmare in the making.” Later in Question … Continue reading →

For all of our ServiceOntario brothers and sisters who have an opportunity to attend a “Town Hall Meeting” or a “Breakfast with Bob” event, here a couple of questions you may want to ask Mr. Stark. ServiceOntario currently has about 2400 employees. How many employees will ServiceOntario have in two years? If I have a job with ServiceOntario two years from now, who will be my employer? Many of us are at an age where retirement planning is a priority. If I have a job with ServiceOntario two years from now, will I have a pension plan? The cost of … Continue reading →

The budget bill (Bill 55) puts the framework in place to fundamentally change how public services are delivered in this province. If the budget bill passes, the government will be able to offload the regulatory functions of all ministries to Delegated Administrative Authorities (DAAs). These are industry-run associations that are supposed to enforce government laws over their own businesses. The government wants to expand self-regulation to other industries such as trucking. The result will be more dangerous highways and job cuts. DAAs are not crown agencies. They are not subject to the oversight of the Legislative Assembly, the Auditor General or … Continue reading →

Ontario already spends less per person on public services than any other province in Canada.  We have the lowest number of provincial employees relative to our population. But the cuts to our services and jobs keep coming. Our contract expires on December 31. This round of bargaining will be tough, but we are up to the task. The employer wants to fundamentally change how public services are delivered in this province. Job security, pensions, wages and benefits are under attack. Our voices need to be heard. We need to protect our services and our contract for the next generation. Complete … Continue reading →

We are constantly bombarded with negative messages about deficits, budget cuts and job loss. All orders of government municipal, provincial and federal have bought into the mantra of austerity. This negative swirl permeates the media. I read a May Day message from the International Trade Union Congress this morning that points out that this negative swirl may cause people “to lose hope in political solutions and retreat into apathy and isolation.” While I cannot deny that this negative swirl can be disheartening I can point to examples of progressive thinking that is gaining traction with the general public. Corporate Tax … Continue reading →

Do you want to share the road with commercial trucks that are self-regulated? In the coming years, that scary scenario could be reality in Ontario. The 2012 Budget includes enabling legislation that will allow the privatization and deregulation of virtually all public services. One way the Liberal government plans to do this is through the use of Delegated Administrative Authorities. What are Delegated Administrative Authorities? The budget describes Delegated Administrative Authorities (DAAs) as self-financing, not-for-profit corporations that operate at arm’s length from government. In plain language that means self-regulation. The budget also describes DAAs as a transformational initiative that could … Continue reading →

Finance Minister Dwight Duncan plans to balance the province’s books on the backs of public employees and the people we serve. We need to position ourselves so our collective agreement protects public services. Duncan’s strategy is to attack the OPS by cutting both jobs and compensation. Cutting Jobs – In the 2009 and 2011 Ontario Budgets, the government announced it will cut 4900 jobs from the OPS by 2014.  Jobs are also threatened by privatization, deregulation and moving more services on line. Duncan is ignoring past failures (Walkerton, Highway 407, Teranet and ORNGE) where public safety was compromised  and assets … Continue reading →

Read this excellent Toronto Star feature article and find out more about how lives have been saved by ground-breaking programs delivered by caring and professional staff at the Thistletown Regional Centre. The McGuinty government’s decision to close the children’s mental health centre could spell the end of an internationally-acclaimed program for victims of sexual abuse. The father of a nine-year-old boy who received treatment at Thistletown after suffering sexual abuse at the hands of an older step-brother cannot believe the government is closing the facility: “I am dumbfounded that they’re doing this. My son’s story is a shocking one. Without … Continue reading →

In light of Dwight Duncan’s budget announcement that he intends to impose a wage freeze on all public sector employees (backed by the threat of back to work legislation) some may ask, why bother to bargain? Collective bargaining is the process through which the employment relationship is established. The employment relationship goes far beyond wages. Keep in mind that a collective agreement can be hundreds of pages long, but only a fraction of those pages will be devoted to wages. The goal of collective bargaining is to establish a collective agreement that sets out the entire scope of an employment … Continue reading →

Ontario’spublic service delivers value for money unmatched in Canada. Despite this fact,  Ontario’s Finance Minister, Dwight Duncan plans to balance the province’s books on the backs of public employees and the people they serve. Mr. Duncan appears unable to learn from past mistakes (e.g. ORNGE) and is pushing  forward with a privatization and deregulation agenda. You have the opportunity to help Mr. Duncan. OPSEU has launched ORNGE Line, a Management Waste Alert that will allow you to report mismanagement of public funds. Help protect vital public services and report mismanagement of public funds such as  pointless projects, overuse of expensive … Continue reading →