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Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa (CASO) workers have voted to ratify their new contract agreement, despite facing mass-layoffs.
Employees ratified the deal late on Tuesday evening after a strike lasting more than three weeks. A tentative agreement was reached between the Ontario Public Service Employees Union and the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa on Monday night.
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In a news release, the union said Wednesday that “workers say that the fight is far from over.”
Michele Thorn, an adoption worker, president of union Local 454 and a member of the bargaining committee, said in the release that, despite their best efforts, workers are “still staring down mass-layoffs,” with up to 38 full-time positions expected to be cut across the three-year term of the agreement.
Employees had walked off the job on July 8. Eighty-five per cent of the agency’s unionized workers voted to strike in March, while negotiations had started last November.
One of the key issues for workers was the Ontario government’s plan to cut an additional 20 employees from the CASO’s roster of 320. The organization, which is funded by the province and works to protect children experiencing abuse and to provide families with assistance, once had more than 400 staff members.
Thorn told the Ottawa Citizen last week that the union was looking for job protection for the life of the collective agreement. She said workers had been “accepting the erosion of staff and services for years because of underfunding.”
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Thorn also said the union was seeking to secure better wages for staff, adding that a deal with wage increases totalling 8.2 per cent had been on the table before the strike.
During the strike, the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services said “business continuity plans” remained in place to ensure all mandated services continued. The ministry provides funding to 50 child welfare groups in the province.
In the news release, the union said pressures faced by CASO workers were “not isolated,” adding that dozens of recent staffing cuts had taken place across the province, affecting workers at several Children’s Aid Society and family support services organizations.
Kelly Raymond, CASO’s executive director, said in an email that the organization’s main focus remains providing the “highest standards of safety and care” for the children, youth and families it serves. Raymond said CASO is also dedicated to highlighting the “crucial contributions” of its staff.
“As we prepare to welcome our staff back and resume normal operations, we acknowledge the challenges faced by everyone involved,” Raymond said. “We appreciate the patience and support of the Ottawa community during this time and look forward to moving ahead together.”
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