Part-time work the focus as OPSEU launches ad campaign around LCBO contract issues

TORONTO, May 10, 2013 /CNW/ - The rise of part-time, temporary, unstable work in Ontario is the focus of a new ad campaign from the union for LCBO workers as a May 17 strike deadline approaches.

"Employers these days are driving big changes in the workplace that are making it harder and harder for people to make a living," said Warren (Smokey) Thomas, President of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. "More and more jobs are being classified as part-time or temporary as employers with increasingly high profits continue to squeeze the people who make those profits possible.

"That's exactly what's happening at the LCBO, and the goal of our ad campaign is to inform the public that what we are bargaining for is what all working people want: the chance to live decently and give our kids what they need."

More than 60 per cent of LCBO employees are "casual" employees, with lower wages, few if any benefits, irregular hours, and an average annual income of $26,000, Thomas said. The LCBO earned $1.6 billion in profits last year.

"These negotiations are really about what kind of Ontario we want to live in," Thomas said. "If high profits for big corporations don't translate into good jobs for people, something's got to be done."

OPSEU's ads will run in English and French on radio stations across the province from now to May 17 as contract talks continue. The first ad in the campaign is available here.

OPSEU represents some 7,000 Ontarians in LCBO stores, warehouses, and offices.

SOURCE: OPSEU

Warren (Smokey) Thomas: [phone]
Sheila Keenan, OPSEU Communications [phone]