MEDIA ADVISORY - Striking TSSA safety inspectors to picket outside Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery

TORONTO, July 26, 2022 /CNW/ - Safety inspectors on strike at the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) will be picketing outside of the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery on July 27, to call for Minister Kaleed Rasheed's intervention in the standstill negotiations.

The 170 safety inspectors, members of OPSEU/SEFPO Local 546, have been on strike since July 21 after the TSSA walked away from the bargaining table. The union's bargaining team has expressed their willingness to meet and reach a deal, with no word from the TSSA since talks broke down last week Wednesday.

"The TSSA is jeopardizing public safety with each day that passes – this is a crisis that could have severe consequences. Instead of negotiating a fair deal so inspectors have the resources and support they need to do their jobs, the employer is passing around checklists for clients to perform their own safety checks," said OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick.

"The answer to this is simple: bargain fairly with the inspectors so that all of us are safe."

The province-wide workers inspect everything from amusement park rides, food trucks, construction hoists and elevators to fuel-burning equipment, gas and propane filling stations, gas lines, boilers and pressure vessels and elements in nuclear power plants. They also work with police and fire services to inspect accidents and incidents and attend court as expert witnesses when needed.

TSSA safety inspectors unionized in 2021 to resolve a host of inequities and mismanagement in their workplace and have been bargaining for their first contract since November 2021. They will be calling on Minister Kaleed Rasheed, who is responsible for oversight of the TSSA, to intervene and urge the TSSA to bargain fairly towards an agreement.

Date:	Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Time:	10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Location:	777 Bay St., Toronto (Bay St. and College)

 

SOURCE Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/SEFPO)

Kelsea Mahabir, 647-528-2740, [email protected]