Espanola – Parents and family members of individuals with developmental disabilities will join striking Community Living Espanola front line staff and the Canadian Union Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario president Sid Ryan for a media conference in Espanola Thursday, June 30, to detail how services have diminished since the agency hired scabs to provide client care.
Working with parents and families of loved ones receiving care at the Espanola agency, CUPE has assessed the quality and the level of care provided to clients by the scab labour who have been delivering services since a seven-week strike by CUPE 2462 began on May 14.
“Contrary to what the management of this agency claims, scabs do not provide good value for money. Programs and supports are being compromised and the level of care reduced for people with developmental disabilities and their families.“
“The sad truth is that these workers are out on strike so they can make the quality of services better,” says Ryan.
Scheduling and staff recruitment are key outstanding issues in the strike, and both impact on the quality of client services. Because the agency is unable to keep pace with new staff recruitment, workers are often forced to work three shifts with only a six-hour break. This hurts workers and compromises the quality of services to people with developmental disabilities and their families.
- WHO: Parents and family of individuals receiving services from Community Living Espanola & Sid Ryan, President CUPE Ontario
- WHAT: Media Conference
- WHEN: Thursday, June 30, 2005 — 11:00 a.m.
- WHERE: 245 Centre Street, Espanola (CUPE 2462 strike headquarters)
For more information, please contact:
Sid Ryan - President, CUPE Ontario, (416) 209-0066;
Michelle Loiselle - CUPE National Representative, (705) 561-9076;
Stella Yeadon - CUPE Communications, (416) 578-8774.