TORONTO
About 100 workers at Central Neighbourhood House, one of downtown Toronto’s oldest community-based multi-service agencies, have ratified a new collective agreement.
“We have achieved a new contract that provides a fair wage increase and protects our rights in the workplace,” said Kelly O’Sullivan, president of CUPE 4308, which represents the workers. “We are pleased that we were able to do it without a lockout or strike that would have disrupted services to the community.”
Community support was key to the workers’ success at the bargaining table.
“Our community is not just where we work,” O’Sullivan said. “For many of us, it’s also our home. That’s why our ‘respect’ campaign asked our employer not just to respect the workers and the work we do, but also to respect the community with whom we work.”
The union will continue to press the employer to join in efforts to secure improved funding for community agencies, which have yet to recover from the drastic cutbacks of the Harris years, she said.
“Underfunding is a serious issue for community agencies but employers cannot expect workers to bear that burden through low wages,” she said. “We hope that our employer will join us as we continue to work for government investment in community agencies and programs that support seniors, women, youth, children, immigrant and refugees, people who are homeless and low-income families.”
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For more information, contact
Kelly O’Sullivan, President, CUPE 4308, 416-596-7927
Garth Smith, CUPE National Representative, 416-292-3999
Pat Daley, CUPE Communications, 416-616-6142
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