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Renfrew, Ont. social workers hit picket line demanding pay increase
The union says nearly two dozen community organizations are now on strike or locked out as workers seek retroactive wages and more provincial funding.
- On Monday, thousands of community and social workers across Ontario walked off the job, with unionized workers at Norfolk Association for Community Living setting up picket lines in Simcoe demanding the province boost funding for their services.
- Introduced in 2019, Bill 124 capped public sector wage increases at one percent for three years until Ontario Court of Appeal struck it down as unconstitutional, forcing over $6 billion in compensation—yet community and social services workers remain 'still waiting' for retroactive payments.
- The median Community Living worker earns $23 per hour and loses $600 per paycheque on strike; OPSEU cited 'chronic underfunding' forcing members to work second jobs and access food banks, with 69,000 awaiting autism services and 50,000 on developmental services waitlists.
- Community Living Thunder Bay hired private contractors including Nurse Next Door to maintain services during the strike, as OPSEU Local 740 president Cindy Mazan stated the action followed a year of coordinated protests and declared 'our members are worth fighting for.'
- The strike spans 27 agencies across Ontario involving more than 4,500 workers in the Worth Fighting For campaign; OPSEU Local 204 president Alex Dunsmuir warned services face privatization or collapse within five to 10 years unless workers can afford to remain in the field.
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21 Articles
21 Articles
The Hamilton Spectator+2 Reposted by 2 other sources
Support workers walk off the job over wage dispute
THUNDER BAY – “We want our 6.5 per cent that was stolen from us from Doug Ford.”
·Hamilton, Canada
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Norfolk Association for Community Living workers hit the picket line
Unionized workers at Norfolk Association for Community Living (NACL) have hit the picket lines citing the provincial government and money owed dating back to 2019 as a big reason for the strike action.
·Simcoe, Canada
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources21
Leaning Left13Leaning Right1Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution81% Left
Bias Distribution
- 81% of the sources lean Left
81% Left
L 81%
13%
Factuality
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