Community Living Elgin employees to hold information picket in St. Thomas

ST. THOMAS, ON, Aug. 19, 2015 /CNW/ - The members of Local 151 at Community Living Elgin will hold an information picket from noon to 1:00 pm on Thursday, August 20 in front of the Community Living Elgin head office at 400 Talbot Street in St. Thomas.

Less than four months after workers at Community Living Elgin ratified a new collective agreement, 18 employees have learned they will be losing their jobs effective September 27.

The employer's justification for the layoffs – a "back deficit and cost containments"  – doesn't stand up to scrutiny, said Steve Abdey, president of OPSEU Local 151 which represents almost 250 employees at the community agency.

Warren (Smokey) Thomas, president of OPSEU, said the community agency must get its fiscal household in order before cutting staff.

"This is a clear case of an employer who's made a mess of its finances and chooses to lay the blame at the feet of its own employees," he said. "It's a band-aid solution and responsibility lies squarely at the feet of the employer."

SOURCE Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)

Rain Loftus, OPSEU Staff Negotiator, 519-878-3540