{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deftab360{\fonttbl {\f0\fswiss Arial;}} {\colortbl ;\red0\green0\blue255;} \uc1\pard\tx720\lang4105\ulnone\f0\fs20 -----Original Message-----\par From: OPSEU Communications Department\par [\cf1\ul mailto:OPSEUCommunicationsDepartment@opseu.org\cf0\ulnone ]\par Sent: Friday, June 15, 2001 12:47 PM\par Subject: FW: TABLE TALK for June 15, 2001: "Tories squirm as members\par speak out on Bill 25"\par \par \par Table Talk \par Bargaining information for OPSEU members in the Ontario Public Service\par June 15, 2001\par \par Tories squirm as members speak out on Bill 25\par \par \tab One hour and 55 minutes.\par \tab That's how long the public hearings into Bill 25 lasted.\par \tab Introduced April 30, Bill 25 could have a big effect on OPSEU\par members in the Ontario Public Service. It will let the government create a\par new kind of "term classified" contract worker. It will let private operators\par be the boss of government employees. It will let more people view OPS\par employees' personnel files. And it will give the Ontario Provincial Police\par Association a chance to absorb 2,500 OPSEU members.\par \tab The hearings took place in Toronto on June 13. Despite short notice,\par OPSEU members came out in force. Denis Perreault, president of Local 364,\par was joined by Marg Simmons, chair of the OPSEU bargaining team in the OPS;\par team vice-chair Mark Kotanen; and four chairs of OPSEU Ministry Employee\par Relations Committees: Alicia Czekierda (Education), Terry Downey\par (Citizenship), Ron Marciniak (Municipal Affairs and Housing), and Doug\par Peebles (Agriculture and Food).\par OPSEU president Leah Casselman had government MPPs squirming in their seats\par from the start.\par "I leave it to you to decide how embarrassed you should be," she told them.\par "Bill 25 concerns a public institution that directs the spending of $64\par billion every year. At another time in this province, a Bill of this sort\par would have been the subject of weeks of hearings." \par Casselman accused the government MPPs of "profound disrespect" for the\par public service.\par \par "The good of the people"\par \par Ron Marciniak led off with a stirring ode to the power of an impartial,\par accountable public service.\par "I have been a member of the Ontario Public Service for nine years," he\par said. "In those nine years my work has been led by experienced, responsible\par senior public servants," he said. "We understand, all of us, the balance\par between responsible fiscal stewardship and the delivery of services and\par programs. It is our business. We are all accountable. We do not always agree\par with the direction our political leaders wish to take, but as Dwight D.\par Eisenhower said, 'Never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion.'"\par Marciniak followed with a blistering attack on new rules in Bill 25 that\par give authority over public services to private operators.\par "I am at a loss as to how the citizens of this province will benefit with\par having the powers and authority of trusted public servants given to 'another\par person or persons' who do not share our vision of service without profit,"\par he said. \par "The basic economic principles of supply and demand have no place in the\par public service. We do not close up and leave town if our services are not\par making money; our services must continue to be available to those who need\par them. \par "We, all of us, are responsible for Cicero's greatest law: 'the good of the\par people.'" \par \par Privacy at risk\par \par Terry Downey got into a spirited debate with Tory MPP Marilyn Mushinski over\par the way Bill 25 will broaden access to employee records, including medical\par records.\par "To allow any individual access to an employee's medical information without\par consent is discriminatory and a violation of the Human Rights Code," Downey\par said. "The Code has primacy over all other legislation. The government\par should not be breaking its own law."\par Downey demanded privacy safeguards if the Bill is passed.\par \par Food safety at risk\par \par \tab Doug Peebles' presentation was an eye-opener as well.\par Bill 25 will give the government more options for using contract staff.\par Peebles said that replacing Ontario's full-time classified meat inspectors\par with contract staff has put food safety at risk. Wages and working\par conditions for these 130 contract staff are so bad that few that take the\par job keep it for long. These "fee-for-service" workers even have to invoice\par the government to get paid, Peebles said.\par "The supply of safe meat to your families is contingent on this temporary,\par inexperienced work force," he said.\par "In a recent MERC meeting, we asked Ministry management about... the high\par rate of meat inspector turnover. They indicated that it was a serious\par problem for them.\par "In the past five-six years we have repeatedly cautioned the employer about\par the revolving door, the gaps in service, and the likelihood of public health\par being threatened due to the lack of experienced classified staff."\par Peebles' remarks hit home with Liberal MPP Marie Bountrogianni. "The whole\par time you're talking, I've got Walkerton on my mind," she said.\par \par A slamming door\par \par \tab Denis Perreault spoke at length of the Bill's bias in favour of the\par OPPA. Bill 25 deviates from standard labour relations practice, Perreault\par said.\par "The bias is really clear when you consider the fact that, if a majority of\par OPP civilians vote to join the OPPA, Bill 25 will not allow them to ever\par vote again if they change their minds. So much for democracy!" he said. \par "The government is selling Bill 25 to OPP civilians as a door opening. In\par reality, it is a door that opens once - and then slams shut forever."\par \par Changes still possible\par \par \tab MPPs have until the end of Friday, June 15 to present amendments to\par Bill 25. Those amendments, if any, will be voted on when the General\par Government Committee meets next. Bill 25 will then go to final reading in\par the legislature.\par \par Find out more\par \par \tab For more information on Bill 25, check the OPSEU web site at\par \cf1\ul http://www.opseu.org/ops/bargaining/index.htm\cf0\ulnone\par <\cf1\ul http://www.opseu.org/ops/bargaining/index.htm\cf0\ulnone> . For the full text of Leah\par Casselman's remarks to the Standing Committee on General Government, go to\par \cf1\ul http://www.opseu.org/campaign/bill25speakingnotes.htm\cf0\ulnone\par <\cf1\ul http://www.opseu.org/campaign/bill25speakingnotes.htm\cf0\ulnone> . To view OPSEU's\par detailed submission to the Committee, go to\par \cf1\ul http://www.opseu.org/campaign/bill25submission.htm\cf0\ulnone\par <\cf1\ul http://www.opseu.org/campaign/bill25submission.htm\cf0\ulnone> .\par \tab A full transcript of the remarks at yesterday's Committee meeting\par should be available on the Legislative web site within a few days. Go to\par \cf1\ul http://www.ontla.on.ca/hansard/committee_debates/37_parl/Session2/gengov/ind\cf0\ulnone\par ex.htm\par <\cf1\ul http://www.ontla.on.ca/hansard/committee_debates/37_parl/Session2/gengov/in\cf0\ulnone\par dex.htm> to read it.\par \par Get on the list!\tab\par \tab\tab\par \tab Table Talk will be published frequently throughout 2001, and will\par provide news and information about bargaining until we have a new collective\par agreement. This information is important to every worker in the OPSEU\par bargaining unit in the OPS. It is published on our web site at www.opseu.org\par <\cf1\ul http://www.opseu.org\cf0\ulnone> , but you can also receive it directly by e-mail or\par by fax. To receive Table Talk, e-mail a message to lwilliams@opseu.org\par <\cf1\ul mailto:lwilliams@opseu.org\cf0\ulnone> or fax your fax number to Lesley Williams at\par (416) 443-1762. Please include your name, correct mailing address, and local\par number (if you know it), and indicate that you want to be on the OPS list.\par \par Produced by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union\par 100 Lesmill Road, Toronto, Ontario M3B 3P8\par www.opseu.org <\cf1\ul http://www.opseu.org\cf0\ulnone> \par \par Original authorized for distribution by Leah Casselman, president.}