New Glasgow – In case there was any doubt about how serious employees of Highland Community Residential Services (HCRS) are about ending the practice of working half their overnight shifts for free, a second strike vote has put that to rest.
Local 2330 spokesperson Margie Daley says, “Under the province’s labour laws a strike vote only lasts for six months. Ours had expired so we held another one. The first vote was 80% - the latest one is 91%. Our members are determined to bring an end to this unfair practice.”
Daley explains, “The agency’s practice of paying them for five hours work on a 10-hour overnight shift should be against the law. What makes it even worse is that employees doing the same work with the same qualifications - Residential Counsellors – in homes funded through Adult Residential Centres get paid for a full shift.
“But both agencies get their funding from the same place – the Department of Community Services. It doesn’t make sense,” says Daley.
“If HCRS is not prepared to pay their employees for a full overnight shift, then perhaps they should think about cancelling those shifts,” she says.
CUPE Local 2330 is mounting a public campaign throughout Pictou County to highlight the unfair practice.
For information:
Margie Daley
Local 2330
(902) 396-4870 (h)
Wayne Thomas
CUPE National Rep.
(902) 752-2244 (o)
John McCracken
CUPE Communications Rep.
(902) 455-4180 (o)