Developmental service workers at Community Living Espanola, CLE, in Northern Ontario, voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action, joining thousands of social services workers across Ontario in the Worth Fighting For campaign. They are demanding fair pay, respect, and the funding needed to meet the needs for some of Ontario’s most vulnerable residents.
For years, developmental service workers have faced low wages, chronic understaffing, and burnout. These long simmering challenges were made worse by Doug Ford’s wage-suppressing Bill 124, which capped wage increases at a time of skyrocketing inflation, taking money out of the pockets of workers. Even after the law was struck down more than 1,000 days ago, developmental services workers are still waiting for the government to repay what was taken from them.
“Our members support people with developmental disabilities to live full lives. But while we help others, we’re struggling to afford rent and groceries,” said Shawna Dubreuil, a frontline developmental service worker and president of CUPE 2462, representing roughly 30 members at the agency. “Less than a third of workers at CLE are full time but our part-timers often work 8 days in a row, more than 40 hours a week, without the same benefits. This job is burning people out and individuals are suffering.”
The strike vote follows months of organizing through the Worth Fighting For Campaign—an initiative uniting thousands of CUPE and OPSEU members from more than 50 social service agencies across Ontario. The campaign calls for fair wages and renewed investment in community services after years of neglect and the unconstitutional wage cap imposed by the Ford government’s Bill 124.
While some public sector workers have been compensated for lost wages, Doug Ford’s Conservatives have ignored the social service workers who form the backbone of Ontario’s care economy.
“Ask parents of children on the autism waitlist or child protection workers who are forced to warehouse children in motels, and they’ll tell you that our social services are on the verge of collapse. This government has underfunded agencies and disregarded workers, hurting communities for years,” said Fred Hahn, President of CUPE Ontario. “That’s why we have waitlists and workers at food banks. We deserve a better Ontario, and these jobs, good services, and healthy communities are worth fighting for. The years of workers in social services quietly accepting whatever scraps the government hands out are over. We’re ready for a fight.”
The strike vote at CUPE 2462 is part of a growing wave of coordinated action across Ontario’s social services. Dozens of locals have already held strike votes, with more to come, setting the stage for coordinated action unless the province steps up.