Mississauga Musings

I've been trying to find find a time to share these articles ever since I first saw them back in January. Now's the time.

"Attention News Editors:

Who's watching the watchdog?

TORONTO, Jan. 22 /CNW/ - Ombudsman Ontario employees expect to be in a legal strike position by mid February. The 60 members of Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union, Local 343 share disbelief and disappointment in the latest offer from the "Fairness Guy".

Employees voted 98% in favour of strike action against the office of the Ontario Ombudsman. While the Ontario Ombudsman himself enjoyed compensation increases of 41.9% in 2006, over the 2005 year, the employees have been offered a long list of takeaways.

Heading the list of takeaways are five (5) paid days that employees have had in their collective agreement since the first one was negotiated in the early 1990's. The Ombudsman's negotiators have insisted these days must go. The Ombudsman also seeks an increase in the weekly hours of work with no additional compensation. The collective agreement expired last March 31st. The Ombudsman's offer contains no retroactivity.

The Ombudsman has referred to his staff in glowing terms in the previous quotes:

"Given all that the dedicated staff in the Office of the Ombudsman has accomplished in the interests of humane government in the past year, I am intensely proud to submit this, my first, annual report. (Ombudsman Ontario Annual Report 2005-2006)

"...our systemic investigations have been done professionally, efficiently and inexpensively and have produced a perfect track record of improvement." (Ombudsman Ontario Annual Report 2006-2007)

"We are proud to report that we've been able to help 20,226 individuals this year and we've done so faster and more efficiently than ever." (Ombudsman Ontario Annual Report 2006-2007)

"Ombudsman staff have managed to make a real difference for individuals who have come to us for help." (Ombudsman Ontario Annual Report 2005-2006)

These glowing comments, combined with the list of takeaways, leave the Ombudsman Ontario staff wondering where the fairness is for them. After all of the takeaways are added up the current offer provides a wage increase of considerably less than 1% for these employees."

ALSO:: "An Open Letter To The Citizens Of Ontario
FROM: THE STAFF OF THE ONTARIO OMBUDSMAN

Ontario Ombudsman guilty of "puffery" and unfairness

The members of the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union, Local 343 employed at the Ontario Ombudsman's office are set to strike on February 18, 2008.

TORONTO, Feb. 6 /CNW/ - After almost a year of trying to get the Ombudsman to negotiate a fair deal, members of the collective bargaining unit at the Ombudsman's Office are fed up. The bargaining unit is made up of early resolution officers and investigators, as well as support and administrative staff. The last collective agreement expired on March 31, 2007. The primary issues of contention are the Ombudsman's demands that his staff work more hours per week for no additional pay and that they surrender certain benefits.

The bargaining unit is perplexed by this given the Ombudsman's public comments over the last year; he has said that resources for his Office "are not a problem"(1), that his Office is the "most cost-effective investigative body around"(2) and that his Office is more efficient than ever.(3) The members of the bargaining committee and the people of Ontario have a right to know, given the Ombudsman's demands, were his statements true or were they just "puffery"?

A strike deadline is set for 12:01 am on Monday, February 18, 2008. Members of the bargaining unit do not want to take this step. The people who are going to suffer are the hundreds of people in Ontario that Ombudsman staff helps every week. However, the bargaining unit feels it is has little choice, the Ombudsman has been intransigent in his demands for concessions. Reasonable explanations for the concessionary demands have not been forthcoming from the Ombudsman either.

Some members of the bargaining unit have been serving the people of Ontario and the Office of the Ombudsman for over 20 years. They deserve to be treated better than they have been; they deserve to be treated with fairness and respect. The Ombudsman has been blasting government for a lack of fairness and a lack of transparency, yet it seems he cannot institute those ideals in his own office."

AND LAST...FROM OUR TORSTAR

"Ombudsman's staff vote in favour of strike

Work hours, days off, overtime central issues
Feb 07, 2008 04:30 AM
Rob Ferguson
Queen's Park Bureau

Labour trouble is brewing for Ontario Ombudsman André Marin, whose 60 unionized staff have voted 98 per cent in favour of a strike that could cripple the watchdog agency's ability to hold the government to account.

Negotiations with the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union have broken off over stumbling blocks that include demands for a slightly longer work week and the loss of five guaranteed days off in exchange for paid overtime.

A work stoppage could begin as early as Feb. 18.

The ombudsman's office maintains its offer is fair, asking for staff to work an extra 15 minutes a day, boosting their basic work week to 36.25 hours in line with the public service, and offering wage increases of 2.75 per cent this year and next and 3 per cent in 2010.

The union is also angry that the salary hike offer would not be retroactive to last March 31, when their last contract expired.

Taking away the five days off – which are in addition to statutory holidays and vacation – is intended to be more equitable because the time is not enough to compensate staff who work a lot of late hours, said Linda Williamson, communications manager in Marin's office."

If anyone's readin' this far down and expects a comment from me, you won't be disappointed.

I was at Region of Niagara when the Ontario Ombudsman's people went head-to-head with AMO.

(Association of Municipalities of Ontario/Local Authority Services reps)

Citizens in Niagara now have access to the Ontario Ombudsman because the Ontario Ombudsman's people, Gareth Jones, Director, Special Ombudsman Response Team (SORT) and Wendy Ray, Senior Counsel, managed to convince Niagara councillors that their citizens deserved the Ontario Ombudsman's investigators.

I'm reminded of a commercial for a charge card company --American Express? Not sure.

"Local Authority Services investigation? $250."

"Citizen access to the Ontario Ombudsman? Free --and PRICELESS."

(Ontario Ombudsman's reps: Gareth Jones and Wendy Ray)

If someone from the Ombudsman's office tells me where the picket lines are, The Mississauga Muse would be more than willing to lay down some Semaphore in support of The Ombudsman's evil-empire-fighting staff.

Signed,
The Mississauga Muse
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"The truth is that we, as a society - all of us - simply don't consider children very important. We talk a good game but we don't think kids are as important as other things, like fixing the roads." - Jim Paul Nevins (Ontario Court Judge October 4, 2001 report)

"We must employ every possible tactic to dissuade those who try to silence us with fear" ---The Mississauga News Editorial (2007-03-24)

Want (or worse, need) to learn more? Link to MISSISSAUGAWATCH.CA
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