Unionized Canadian Hearing Society employees will be heading back to work on Monday after ratifying a tentative agreement reached by their union early last week.
Workers ratified the agreement on Friday, putting an end to a province-wide strike that started Mar. 6 and involved 227 employees.
In a statement, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 2073, the union representing the workers, said the new contract was fair and came thanks to the “toughness” of those who walked the picket line for 10 weeks seeking “fairness, respect, and high-quality services.”
“Because of their toughness, because they were so steadfast, we were ultimately able to secure a fair contract,” said Stacey Connor, CUPE Local 2073 president, in a statement.
A lack of wage increases over the last four years and a poor sick leave plan, described as “bottom-of-the-barrel” in a statement by CUPE’s national representative Barbara Wilker-Frey, were two key issues in the dispute.
According to the union, the collective agreement includes retroactive wage increases of five years and a short-term disability program that provides employees with income protection in the event of an unforeseen injury or illness.
“Everyone is looking forward to getting back to serving the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community and to providing vital services,” said Connor in the statement. “We are so grateful to the community for all the support shown us through the strike.”
CUPE Local 2073 represents workers in 24 CHS offices across Ontario, which serve the deaf and hard-of-hearing community by providing a number of supports, including counsellors, literacy instructors, and audiologists. Ninety per cent of its workers are women, and 40 per cent of them are deaf.
— With files from Liny Lamberink and The Canadian Press
Comments