Local 439 News and Views
Issue #1 June
13, 2001
This newsletter is to update you on the current
status of events at the Brockville Psychiatric Hospital. Firstly,
you will notice that this is our first newsletter under our new
masthead. After looking over all the suggestions our esteemed
judges chose Sister Lee Birkett's entry. Lee is now the proud
owner of an official OPSEU jacket. The runner up was Rose Phillips;
she received a beautiful OPSEU sweatshirt. I want to take this
opportunity to thank everyone who entered our contest.
I want to start with the status of our negotiations.
The Para-medical and Office, Service and Clerical teams met with
the employer on May 25, 2001. We handed them our first set of
demands and discussed generally the process for our negotiations.
At our meeting Friday we will receive the Royal Ottawa's response
to our initial demands. The employer and the Union have agreed
to meet every Tuesday in July to negotiate. More dates are possible
depending on the progress made in our bargaining. The team and
myself will keep you updated on an ongoing basis.
The Local and the stewards have received numerous
grievances concerning the severance pay for employees with one
to five years of service. The latest official word is that the
Ministry of Health has officially applied for judicial review
of the award. It is expected to be heard in the early fall of
2001. Richard Blair of Ryder,Wright, Blair and Doyle will be presenting
the case on behalf of OPSEU. Richard was the attorney who handled
the original grievance on our behalf. I am confident that the
judicial review will be dismissed and the original award upheld.
Further to that the grievances filed on this issue are currently
being held in abeyance pending the results of the judicial review.
If any other information becomes available we will pass it on
to the membership immediately.
Also on the grievance front, the issue surrounding
the OPSEU Pension Trust is still very much alive. The grievance
is tentatively scheduled for a hearing date in September. We will
keep you posted on this important issue.
Another issue that has been problematic is the issue
of which benefits we have or do not have since the transfer of
governance. It has been confirmed in writing that the benefits
for dental and supplementary health and hospital benefits do in
fact stay the same. If you have been denied a benefit to which
you were previously entitled, contact Human Resources right away.
If you experience any problems contact your Steward for assistance.
In closing I would like to remind people that if
you have something of interest to say or an idea for an article
please contact myself or one of the stewards. I would also like
to take this opportunity to thank the membership for their continued
support of the local and its elected bargaining teams. It is a
challenging environment to bargain but our teams are committed
to obtaining a made in Elizabeth town contract that is in the
best interest of all of the members of both bargaining units.
David McDougall
President Local 439
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