Bargaining Update
April 7, 2015
BARGAINING UPDATE – #3
From your Strike Committee Chair
Provincial Bargaining
Provincial Bargaining is a very slow process and a confidential endeavor, however, here is what we can tell you.
To date, meetings took place with the management team on December 3rd, 4th and 18th, 2014 and the “terms of reference” (establishing ground rules for bargaining) were agreed to and signed off. Funding for the CUPE table was not secured, but, it has been tabled for further discussion during bargaining.
Discussions have taken place on what issues belong at the central table versus the local table. The management team has pushed to have the bulk of monetary costs beyond salary and benefits discussed at the central table. Many of the items that CUPE sees at central (contracting in/out, violence prevention, and preventative maintenance) have been rejected by the management team.
CUPE did not reach an agreement on the presence of key items at the central table and therefore, made application to the Ontario Labour Relations Board for dispute resolution in an attempt to reach an agreement on what is bargained centrally versus locally. The management team’s submissions are in and a case management date was set for April 1st, 2015.
Concessions at other tables
The government management team has tabled big concessions at the OECTA table which confirms our sense that we are heading for a very rough round of bargaining and we are expecting to face similar concessionary demands.
Strike Preparation Committee
The committee will be contacted in early May to attend the next Strike Preparation Meeting and complete our strategic planning. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Sandy Jones.
We are still in need of Site Captains, if you are interested please email Greg McCulloch (Site Captain Head) – cmcculloch@cogeco.ca.
We are still in need of Board Office Site Captains, if you are interested please email Trish Slavik (Board Office Site Captain Head) – sportiertrish@hotmail.com.
We are still in need of Flying Squad members, if you are interested please email Roadie Robertson (Flying Squad Captain) – roadiecupe5555@hotmail.com.
General duties can be explained by the Site Co-ordinator Captains when you email.
Our motto is “Negotiate to Bargain, prepare to Strike”.
Sandy Jones, Strike Committee Chair
H: 905-355-5604
C: 905-376-8898
Email: calicocat19@hotmail.com