OCEU/CUPE 1750 clarifies the facts amid employer misinformation

TORONTO, ON –(COMMUNITYWIRE)– In public statements, the management team of the Workplace Safety and Insurance board has made a variety of false claims about the OCEU/CUPE 1750 members and their ongoing strike actions. The union is issuing this statement to set the record straight on some of the most deceitful claims.

1. The WSIB denies plans to send jobs to an American Company and layoff staff.
   The WSIB entered a contract to outsource work to an American firm Iron Mountain and is poised to layoff 26 Canadian workers. The Union demands this contract be terminated with no impact to its members.
   
2. WSIB tries to justify coaching contract with American Firm.
   The WSIB is pretending the $14.5 M contract with the American company known as BetterUp is helping employees with stress. First, employees shouldn’t be under so much work-related stress. Second, this is a waste of money better used to support Canadian jobs. Third, the program is an unnecessary spend to coach employees to grow their careers. School Boards are being put under administration or supervision for poor management. Why not WSIB?
   
3. The WSIB claims the bargaining team from OCEU “walked away from the table.”
   This is a significant mischaracterization of the events at the table. The union, after receiving the employers “last and final offer,” just one day before the strike deadline told the employer that their pass was unacceptable and invited them to do better. On the eve of the strike deadline the management team decided to not improve their offer. No one walked away from the table. The employer has since refused to engage in negotiations and is falsely claiming the union “walked away.”
   
4. The WSIB claims there have been instances of harassment and intimidation.
   The only intimidation in this strike is the employer hiring private investigators to infiltrate our picket lines, take pictures of our members, and send harassing letters to their personal emails threatening investigation that could lead to discipline or termination for participating in legal strike action that is protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The union has issued a cease-and-desist letter, demanding that the WSIB management immediately cease all strike breaking activities immediately and return to the bargaining table.
   
5. The WSIB claims the union is not willing to negotiate.
   We remain willing and able to negotiate and urge the employer to return to the table with a meaningful offer that addresses our members’ core concerns. Until then, our picket lines will stand as a reminder that solidarity is stronger than intimidation and lies.
   
6. The WSIB management claims to care about the well-being of injured Ontario workers, and their staff.
   If that were true, the WSIB would have used the $4 billion rebates it gave to employers to improve WSIB for injured workers, address the crushing workloads, and bring OCEU members’ wages back to par with inflation. Actions speak louder than words. By locking our members out on Wednesday, the WSIB has harmed injured workers waiting for their claims to be processed, and damaged what trust OCEU members had with their employer.

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For more information, please contact:

Bill Chalupiak, CUPE Communications Representative
wchalupiak@cupe.ca
416-707-1401