OPSEU plans support rally for North Bay Jail workers

OPSEU President Smokey Thomas will lead a rally in support of North Bay Jail at the Corrections Building 200 First Avenue Thursday June 7, at 12:00 pm.

The union says there can be no more reprisals for exercising workers rights under the H & S Act.

Backgrounder

OPSEU to launch investigation into management at North Bay Jail

May 31, 2007 TORONTO - A two-day strategy meeting into the ongoing labour relations crisis at the North Bay Jail has resulted in the launch of a union investigation of management actions at the Trout Lake Road maximum-security facility.

Union leaders at OPSEU Local 616 met with senior OPSEU officials to outline the current and historic problems at the jail. As a result, OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas says that the union will immediately take action.

"We will investigate what we feel are illegal actions by this employer, and try to determine if there is a dangerous management incompetence at both the facility and the regional level," Thomas said.

Thomas is referring to incidents of reprisals against staff of health and safety refusals at the jail, refusals that were all found valid by inspectors at the Ministry of Labour. In an incident last January, unprotected staff refused to confront an inmate, armed with a razor, while management ignored requests to activate the facility's specially-trained team that deals with these types of occurrences.

"My members are being investigated, intimidated and suspended for legally exercising their rights and our members' actions were upheld by the Ministry of Labour," Thomas said. "They cannot live in fear of sanctions for trying to protect themselves. I am demanding that the Corrections Minister, Monte Kwinter, immediately put a stop to these illegal retaliatory actions by his managers, and work with us to stabilize labour relations at the North Bay Jail."