Province, corrections officers reach deal

Binding arbitration on wages, removal of right to strike among string of conditions

The union representing corrections officers has reached a deal with the Ontario government that removes any future right to strike but means sending all wage issues to binding arbitration.

“This is just the beginning; this is a step in the right direction. We still have a crisis in corrections. It’s not near done. We have a lot of work to do,” said Tom O’Neill, chairman of the bargaining team that sealed the agreement about 4:20 a.m. Saturday.

“Because we no longer have the right to strike technically, that makes us an essential service,” O’Neill noted, adding that the corrections officers unit will have its own bargaining process with the government in the future.

In a statement, Treasury Board president Deb Matthews and Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Yasir Naqvi said they were “pleased” a deal has been reached to avert a possible strike ahead a 12:01a.m. Sunday deadline.

The deal calls for the immediate hiring of 25 new probation and parole officers to address the highest caseload in the country. Binding arbitration on wage issues will commence within 60 days, union officials said.

Training classes for150 new corrections officers will also begin almost immediately to address chronic understaffing problems in jails and detention centres, which have resulted from a three-year hiring freeze.

Union negotiator Monte Vieselmeyer said the system is short about 800 corrections officers.

But Ontario Public Service Employee Union president Warren Thomas said the province is showing a willingness to address a system plagued by overcrowding and staff shortages.

“Hopefully (we can) eliminate forever the need for administrative lockdowns because you don’t have enough staff. Not because people are off sick, they just don’t have enough people. That would be a huge bonus for inmates,” Thomas said.

Up to 6,000 guards and probation officers were facing the midnight deadline. The workers rejected a tentative agreement in November, but the deal between the union and the province has been sealed and does not require a vote by members.

The government had announced that in the event of a strike, managers from across the public service would be brought in to run the jails, which officials said held 7,444 inmates — 88 per cent of capacity — as of Thursday.

The Star reported Satuday that there have been at least 300 inmate lockdowns over the past two years just at Maplehurst Correctional Complex in west Toronto, affecting more than 1,000 inmates. Lockdowns, which can be sparked by a staffing shortage, prevent prisoners from seeing their lawyers or family, getting medication, attending rehab programs or even taking a shower.