FERGUS – Leaders and members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario held a protest on Wednesday calling for their workplace bargaining agreements to be restored.
Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) of CUPE president Michael Hurley explained that Bill 195’s emergency orders allows employers in a broad range of health and social services to change people’s shifts, jobs, location and other actions without notice.
This isn’t sitting well with OCHU/CUPE.
CUPE Ontario president Fred Hahn said these orders aren’t needed as their members stepped up during the crisis without being told to.
“These orders are unnecessary because our members are professionals, they know how to do their jobs, they know how to do them safely,” Hahn said.
“This just blanket removes people’s rights and assumes it’s okay to order folks around and not recognize or respect their skill and commitment to their communities.”
Hahn noted that while hospital and long-term care workers are in the front of people’s minds, a wide range of other health care and municipal jobs are affected by this bill.
A few dozen members rallied outside MPP Ted Arnott’s office in downtown Fergus waving flags and giving speeches calling for the Progressive Conservative caucus to restore their rights.
Arnott’s office was chosen as one of many locations as he’s been a long time PC parliament member and voted in favour of the bill.
“Ted Arnott needs to hear from the people who live in this community that’s not okay,” Hahn said. “We’re just not going to stand for workers’ rights being suspended indefinitely. It is unprecedented, undemocratic and unnecessary.”
Sharon Richer, secretary-treasurer of OCHU/CUPE, echoed the sentiment that healthcare workers aren’t being treated like the heroes they’re being called.
“At the very high point of the pandemic, especially when the Guelph Hospital had so many outbreaks, they came in and worked over time, longer shifts and through breaks,” Richer said.
“Now that the cases are much lower in hospitals they deserve to go on vacation and back to their jobs.”
Richer stressed that if there was another spike in COVID cases, their members would be there to serve the community without legislation telling them what to do.
Hurley said these actions particularly hurt women as they make up a large portion of OCHU/CUPE members.
An example he gave is a single parent, which many of the members are, working day shift to take care of their young children.
“Childcare centres are closed and the employer can move you from the day shift to the night shift with no notice,” Hurley said. “That kind of change for example has an enormous impact on your daily life and your ability to cope and function as a parent and employee.”
Hahn was very critical of a lack of consultation with CUPE regarding Ontario’s emergency orders while the premier has boasted about everyone working together.
“I’m sorry that’s just not true,” Hahn said. “Communities all over the province want nothing more than to help their communities to get through this crisis. They have the expertise and the skill and ignoring that is actually a detriment to our capacity to deal with COVID-19 in the long term.”
