Workers at Community Living Renfrew County South ratify agreement

RENFREW, ON, June 30, 2016 /CNW/ - Less than a week after reaching a tentative agreement, developmental services workers with Community Living Renfrew County South ratified their two-year collective agreement on June 27.

Beginning on April 1, 2016, the agreement provides significant improvements to wages, benefits and working conditions for members, including:

• a $1.20 -per-hour wage increase for all job classifications
• 20 cents per hour retroactive pay for all employees for all hours worked from April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016
• job security, seniority and layoff and recall language
• a comprehensive grievance procedure 
• a comprehensive process for requests and approval of vacation time
• a new "sunset clause" that removes letters placed on members' files by the employer
• movement through a wage grid that has been frozen since 2007

"We're really happy with this agreement," said bargaining team chair Derek Ouellette. "We needed to see wage increases across the board, as well as real job security, and we got it."

OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas was also pleased. "Workers deserve provisions like these. I'm happy to see our workers at Community Living Renfrew County South have ratified the agreement."

Local 472 members work in the towns of Renfrew and Arnprior, supporting people who have developmental disabilities. They have been OPSEU members since August 2014.

SOURCE Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)

Nelson Ross Laguna, OPSEU staff representative, 1-844-765-1416 ext. 5445