Support workers walk as contract talks fail
Prescription-drug co-pay sparks anger
University of Ottawa support staff took to the picket lines on Monday, albeit physically distanced ones limited to about 20 members at a time, as the 1,300-member Support Staff uOttawa (PSUO-SSUO) local went on strike at 12:01 a.m.
The move followed a failure to reach an agreement with the school after 19 months of bargaining.
The workers, who began picketing the university Monday afternoon, provide support and services to students and professors at the school. Some also teach courses or run labs. According to messages put out by the union on social media, its members are fully withdrawing their services until a tentative deal is reached.
Harvey Bischof, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF), which represents the bargaining unit, said a major issue in the dispute is the university's proposal to change prescription-drug benefits in the contract so members would pay part of the cost.
“The co-pay, which hasn't previously existed, could result in a cost of $3,000 per member, out of pocket, for those who have the most needs for medication.”
Bischof described the university's insistence on a co-pay as “a mean-spirited and inequitable approach,” and one that is “entirely unnecessary,” given that the university was forced to take its earlier pay-hike offer of five and one-quarter per cent off the table owing to the province's Bill 124, which limits public-sector raises to one per cent annually.
“I'm not arguing with the employer about that, because it was the law, but they took a couple of million dollars off the table, but left their other strips on the table,” Bischof said.
Members of the local (PSUOSSUO) voted 80 per cent against accepting the “final offer” contract the university proposed in June, said Marcelle Desmornes, president of the bargaining unit.
In a letter addressed to the university's students, Éric Bercier, the school's associate vice-president of student affairs, indicated that in the event of a strike, “we fully intend to continue our academic and research activities. Courses will continue as usual and we will do our utmost to maintain services. However, should a strike occur you may anticipate some delays and a slight disruption in some frontline services.”
University officials were not immediately available for comment