Corrections officers vote against contract
Correctional officers at the South West Detention Centre and jail facilities across Ontario could be walking the picket line sometime within the next couple of weeks after rejecting a three-year deal.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents 5,500 jail employees across the province, said the tentative agreement reached Nov. 23 was rejected by a 67 per cent margin.
OPSEU president Warren (Smokey) Thomas said he was not surprised by the results of the vote because the government “didn’t even come close” to addressing what he calls a “crisis in correctional services in this province.”
Locally, the numbers were even higher among 185 full-time and part-time employees at the South West Detention Centre as they voted 95 per cent against the deal, according to Randy Simpraga president of OPSEU Local 135, which represents officers in Windsor.
The provincial bargaining teams and conciliator will decide what happens next, he said. Either side can issue a no-board report and from that moment, the officers will be in a legal strike position within a couple of weeks, Simpraga said.
“We hope to not go on strike, but we are ready,” he said.
Correctional officers are not deemed essential workers so managers — possibly including those from other government ministries — would have to step in and fill the jobs.
At any given time, there are on average 250 inmates locked up inside the South West Detention Centre, which has a capacity of 315.
“You already have a crisis in corrections facilities with our officers on the inside, but with us outside (on strike) it will be a disaster,” Simpraga said.
In a joint statement, deputy premier and President of the Treasury Board Deb Matthews and Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Yasir Naqvi said it was “disappointing” the contract agreement was rejected.
The provincial government is considering next steps, but “remains committed” to the collective bargaining process, they said.
“Both sides showed a strong commitment to work together to negotiate this settlement and the tentative agreement was both fair and reasonable to our employees,” they said.
Negotiations between the two sides have been ongoing for over a year as the contract for the jail employees expired last Dec. 31.
One primary issue is the officers want their own collective agreement instead of being lumped together with other jail employees, Simpraga said.
“They told us take it this way this time and trust us you will get it next time in 2018,” he said.
Other concerns are a three-year wage freeze for new hires, plus reductions in benefits and severance pay. Also, correctional officers in Ontario want to be paid and treated equally with federal corrections officers who receive between $9,000 to $13,000 more in annual pay, Simpraga said.
Pay ranges locally for the corrections officers stretch on a scale from $24 per hour to $34 per hour, he said.
“We don’t want to go on strike and would rather be inside working, but we are prepared and will wait to hear from our bargaining team,” Simpraga said.