PHO Bargaining Bulletin
Greetings from your bargaining team. We have a number of important items to share.
Bill 124 Update
As many of you are aware, on November 29, 2022, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice declared Doug Ford’s Bill 124 legislation, which capped total compensation at one percent, to be “void and of no effect.”
The government has filed an appeal of the decision and they are awaiting a hearing. In the meantime, Bill 124 is “void and of no effect.” This is great news for us and hundreds of thousands of public sector employees who were affected by this unfair and unjust legislation that froze wage compensation at the peak of inflation.
As per our Arbitration award, we have a re-opener option to seek compensation should Bill 124 be modified or repealed. We have reached out to the Employer and advised them that we wish to activate this re-opener option and return to the bargaining table. After waiting for a response, the Employer has agreed to meet with us.
On February 28, your bargaining team will prepare a monetary package to present to the Employer for consideration. You gave us a clear mandate when we held our demand set and this will shape what we bring back to the table to the Employer.
We hope the Employer will listen and do the right thing to meet our demands. We know you have worked tirelessly for the last three years throughout the pandemic. Now is the time for our Employer to start listening to our concerns and fulfill their commitment to an effective workplace.
Bargaining Team Member Update
Casey McGuire, L412 has now moved into the role of the Bargaining Chair.
Omid Nouri (the previous Chair) is on leave. We wish him all the best during this time and thank him for all of his contributions to the team and for fighting for members’ rights.
Farzad Majdinasab, L545 will join the bargaining team as the elected alternate for Omid’s position. Welcome Farzad!
2023 Bargaining Update:
We know that many of our members have inquired about our renewal contract since our current contract is due to expire on March 31.
The Union has served Notice to Bargain to the Employer with its intention to bargain and make changes to the current contract.
This process will not start until the current discussions on the compensation re-opener are resolved. We need to determine what further improvements we can make in the current contract as they will have a retroactive effect.
All Highest Ranking have received an update about this from our Central Negotiator. Please stay tuned for communications from our Negotiator with further details, including when the Demand Setting process for 2023 will begin.
This is good news for our members, and we are honoured to continue to fight for you.
A further update will be shared once we meet with the Employer.
In solidarity,
Your Bargaining Team
Casey McGuire
Bargaining Team Chair
Local 412 (Ottawa)
kc.mcguire1374@gmail.com
Farzad Majdinasab
Local 545 (Toronto)
f_majdinasab@hotmail.com
Shah Nawaz
Local 545 (Toronto)
shahnawaz.l@gmail.com
Selfa Pyentam
Local 113 (London)
selbarry@yahoo.com
Cathy Masterson
Local 522 (Toronto)
mascf1@gmail.com