Warning message

Please note that this page is from our archives. There may be more up-to-date content about this topic on our website. Use our search engine to find out.
Members of CUPE 1750 are celebrating after pushing the private consulting giant Accenture out of their workplace, Ontarios Workers Safety and Insurance Board.

In April, members learned that Accenture had been hired to conduct an administrative cost review, with an emphasis on contracting out existing services. They sounded the alarm right away with a news conference at Queens Park, with help from the NDP and the Ontario Federation of Labour. The local also worked internally to mobilize members and mounted a public awareness campaign.

Accentures shady track record is well known in Ontario, including their sky-high profits and unmet requirements while overhauling the provinces social assistance system a project that has drawn repeated criticism from the provincial auditor. CUPE 1750 members knew the truth about any cost review: they could end up losing their jobs, while lucrative computer contracts and other private deals helped line the pockets of Accenture shareholders.

When members sound the alarm and warn the public early enough, employers have to listen. Congratulations to the watchful members of CUPE 1750 for their quick action a lesson for all members to keep an eye out for men in suits and consultants in our workplaces.

Be on the lookout for a new CUPE resource on early warning signs of privatization, coming soon.