It's day two of the province-wide strike at Canadian Hearing Society and a representative of CUPE says no talks are on-going, nor planned.
The four employees of the North Bay office were out picketing this morning, joined by employees locked out from the Children's Aid Society.
CUPE National representative Barbara Wilker-Frey told BayToday that the union is waiting to hear from the employer.
"The talks broke off on Sunday around 6 p.m. and we had presented another option on how to deal with the outstanding issues. The picket lines went up Monday and we reminded them Monday that we were still waiting to hear from the and we haven't heard anything since Sunday night."
Wilker-Frey says the key issues are wages and health care benefits.
"They've been without a collective agreement for four years so they've had zero wage increases or changes to working conditions in those four years. The employer is also attacking their sick leave provision and trying to replace their current sick leave bank with a vastly inferior short-term disability program which doesn't cover the members to nearly the level they currently have."
A couple of clients are expressing support of the staff of the Canadian Hearing Society.
Richardo Boochoon (Deaf), and Christina McLeod (Deaf) explained to Boochoon (Deaf), and Christina McLeod (Deaf) explained to BayToday the strike has seriously impacted the Deaf Community with no access to interpreters.
"In Northern Ontario, we are very limited to the amount of interpreters we have, so we take great pride in supporting the ones we have. We have one staff interpreter at the CHS North Bay office and one freelance interpreter who cover daytime appointments as well as evening and weekend emergencies. Now that CHS is on strike we are at such a disadvantage because now our services have been put on hold.
"How do I communicate with my doctor, my children’s teachers or for an interview with the media? With the strike, I am now forced to write in order to communicate; write in my second language: English.
The two say "AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act) is in place so I can have access to professional interpreter services and communicate in my first language, American Sign Language, but because of this strike my human right is being denied."
They are encouraging the management of CHS and CUPE Local 2073 to settle the strike quickly so interpreter services can be restored.
Meanwhile, talks between the Children's Aid Society and its locked-out workers resumed today, however, there is no news of a settlement to the almost three-month old dispute.
