Barry's Bay action planned to back provincial talks on wages and jobs for DS

BARRY'S BAY, ON, Dec. 11, 2014 /CNW/ - Workers who provide care and support for people with developmental disabilities say unstable conditions in the sector must change, and employers have an opportunity to make that happen in discussions this week with unions in the sector. 

OPSEU members have planned actions in towns and cities across Ontario to show employers they are watching developments closely and expect significant changes to show up in a provincial framework agreement that local unions can adopt.

In Barry's Bay, OPSEU members are holding an information picket: 12 noon, Friday, Dec. 12, in downtown Barry's Bay.

"Employers can't recruit or retain skilled, professional workers because of the low pay and unstable hours they offer. They've addressed this in their own survey of employers across Ontario. They're even turning to high school volunteers, who are hardly equipped to care for and support people with autism, fetal alcohol syndrome and other disabilities," said Patti Markland, chair of OPSEU developmental services.

More than two-thirds of developmental services workers are part-time, temporary, or on contract.  Many of them earn less than $14 an hour.

"No matter how much they love their jobs, they can't stay if they can't make ends meet," said OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas. "Our union has been in the forefront of the push for stable earnings for the workers and stable services for the people they support and their families. High staff turnover is bad for workers, bad for the people they support, and ultimately bad for employers because constant recruitment and training are costly."

OPSEU represents some 12,000 DS workers, many of whom have planned actions this week to make it clear to employers they expect significant improvements as a result of talks taking place this week with employers. Talks are scheduled for Dec. 11 and 12.

The provincial talks resulted from earlier discussions facilitated by the Ministry of Community and Social Services, which is responsible for developmental services. The Ontario government has allocated $200 million for frontline workers over the next three years.

RELATED: Developmental Services Bargaining 2014 Index

SOURCE: Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)

Bill Green, OPSEU Developmental Services, [email protected]; Sheila Keenan: OPSEU Communications and Campaigns, 416.802.1251, [email protected]