According to the local union leader, CASO’s workforce has already been reduced from over 400 to 320 employees.
Employees of the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa, already under pressure from budget cuts and previous waves of layoffs, gathered to picket their Blair Road headquarters on Monday “as a last resort.”
Among the key issues for workers who belong to the Ontario Public Service Employees Union are the provincial government’s plans to lay off another 20 of the current 320 employees.
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According to Michele Thorn, adoption officer at CAS, president of Local 454 union and member of the bargaining committee, CASO once employed more than 400 people.
“We don’t want to be here,” Thorn said, as he occasionally heard the cheering honks of motorists driving past the offices at Telesat Court.
“The most important thing right now is protecting jobs. The (government) says they will not fund them sufficiently because they have big deficits. When the negotiations are over, they plan layoffs. We cannot continue like this. The workload is already unbearable. People are quitting. People are going on vacation. People cry every day because they cannot do their work.”
CASO works to protect children who are physically, sexually and emotionally abused and offers additional support and assistance to families in need. The aim is to keep families together as much as possible.
Ontario’s Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services issued a statement to Postmedia on Monday afternoon saying that “business continuity plans” remained in place to ensure all mandated services continued to be provided to children and families.
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The Ministry provides funding to 50 child protection groups in the province and each of these groups must submit a budget in order to operate with the funds allocated to it.
“This year, we have increased funding for child protection services by an additional $14 million – on top of last year’s increase of $76.3 million,” the statement said. “Through Ontario’s 2024 budget, we are also investing an additional $310 million over three years to cover operating costs for community organizations that support vulnerable people across the province. For the child protection sector, the increase this year is $36.5 million. This additional funding is a base increase and will be ongoing.”
Negotiations between the two sides began in November.
After talks failed in March, 85 percent of the union voted for a strike.
Since then, there have been arbitration and mediation talks with the ministry. Thorn admits that “we have made some progress,” but dismissal protection remains the biggest obstacle to an agreement.
The mood on the picket lines was exuberant in the sunshine on Monday. Picketers carried a series of signs – “Fund for Children’s Futures,” “We Support Strong Kids,” “Doug Ford Puts Kids Last,” “No Worker Left Behind” – and danced to music.
X: Citizenkwarren
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